Lyrics of Sorrow
by LoneWolf218
Summary: The Jewel Seeds: 21 Lost Logia that bear the power to grant any wish, no matter how evil. They, and those that seek them, have landed on an Earth embroiled in a hidden war of magic, darkness, and souls. Can the forces of light reclaim these dangerous gems before those of evil intent use them to change the world… forever?
1. Seeking Answers

**Lyrics of Sorrow**

By LoneWolf218

AN: Standard gig, I don't own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or Castlevania. I just had an idea one day "What if the Japan Nanoha lived in was the same one Soma lived in?" Hope you find it within your hearts to read and review this. Begins after Episode 3 of the original anime and a few years after Dawn of Sorrow.

Chapter 1: Seeking Answers

As the sun began it's long decent over the city of Uminari, the train station was bustling, filled with men and women returning home from their jobs in nearby Tokyo. However, there was an aura of caution, even fear, over the crowd. Friends and acquaintances were speaking in hushed whispers about something mysterious that had happened earlier in the day, wondering if anyone they knew had been affected.

Into this quiet maelstrom of hushed voices and suppressed emotions, another train arrived. It barely even got noticed, nor did most of the group that filed out the doors. One man, however, did get some odd looks, even a second glance or two.

The first thing that stood out about him was his cloths; while most of the train's passengers wore crisp suits of some variety, the man was wearing a long white trench coat over a dark shirt and jeans, along with tall white boots. More than that, however, was his hair; which was the same shocking white as his coat. This would have marked him as being quite old, but for the fact that his face was young and unlined, looking barely a day over twenty.

Still, the people on the platform simply shook their heads. They wondered why young people these days were so insistent on their odd fashion choices and hair dyes, but ultimately dismissed the young man as being harmless, and turned their attention back to their own concerns.

They would not be so quick to judge him if they knew more about the coat he was wearing. Underneath the common cloth was a layer of metal that most people didn't believe existed: mythril. This magic infused material was lightweight, and yet it was stronger than any suit of Kevlar. What's more, the dark shapes that were woven at key points of the coat were not just for decoration, but anchored a series of powerful wards that could repel almost any hostile magic directed at the wearer, as well as blocking most mundane methods of detection, such as X-rays. This was done to allow the wearer to go through airport security without causing a panic, since his occupation required him to travel around the world.

Civilians would find the weapons the man carried to be even more worrying. In his right coat pocket there was a heavy pistol, loaded with enchanted silver bullets that were effective against the forces of darkness, while his left pocket, which was enchanted to hold objects that by all rights should not be able to fit in the small space, carried a long, sheathed katana. This weapon, known as Muramasa, was a cursed blade, and any lesser mind would have been broken by it long ago.

However, this man was nothing if not strong willed.

And that was the last, most terrifying thing about him that would have had most people running in fear from him if they knew. He was the reincarnation of the Lord of Darkness, Dracula. Within him rested the power and souls of demons, won in the heat of battle. The only hint of this was the odd silver ring that seemed to cause a headache if one looked at it too long: the Chaos Ring.

This was a powerful man. More than once, he had walked, alone, into certain death and come out unscathed. Entire armies of darkness had been banished by his hands. If you were beset by danger, he was your savior and your best friend. If you wished to harm those he cared about, he was your worst enemy, and likely the last one you would ever face.

His name was Soma Cruz.

Soma looked around the platform, whistling quietly as he wandered towards the rendezvous point Arikado had given him.

'Sense anything?' the thought. After a moment, another voice, that of a woman, answered.

'Nothing out of the ordinary, Master.' Soma glanced to his right to see a pretty young woman sitting sidesaddle on a broom and hovering a few feet above the ground. She wore dark purple robes that showed off her legs, as well as a large, pointed hat. Anyone who saw her would clearly recognize her as a witch.

Of course, she was not actually floating beside him; that would attract far too much attention from the crowd of ordinary travelers. Instead, she was a projection of his mind, letting him look at the souls that he was communicating with, granting a sense of connection.

'Do a wider sweep, we still don't know exactly what has happened here, best to be prepared for any eventuality,' Soma thought.

'Right away.' With that, the witch vanished.

Soma reached the main lobby of the train station and looked around again, wondering whom exactly Arikado had sent to meet him. Even though he had been working for the man for almost two years now, he still had yet to meet very many of the other agents.

"Agent Cruz?" a voice asked quietly from behind him. Working hard not to jump, Soma turned. A middle aged woman, probably somewhere in her mid forties, was standing there. She had long dark hair that reached to the small of her back, with a few bangs obscuring her grey eyes. "My name is Itou Yuriko," she continued, bowing slightly.

"I assume you're the one Arikado wanted me to meet," Soma said, returning the bow. Yuriko nodded.

"Yes. Mr. Arikado asked me to brief you on the situation and do everything in my power to aid your investigation." She nodded to the parking lot. "I have a car, if you want to get started."

"Of course," Soma said, matching the woman's long stride as they walked to a black Toyota.

"So, how much have you been told?" she asked.

"Not a whole lot, just what I saw on the news before Arikado dispatched me here."

* * *

_ Several hours earlier_

In a small café near the center of Hakuba city, Soma and his girlfriend Mina were having lunch together for the first time since Soma had come back from his most recent mission. He was taking the time to relate one of the more amusing moments of an otherwise tense and dangerous assignment.

"…So there we were, in the middle of some crazy demon-worshiper's lair, and one of his demons, which looked like an old fat guy wearing some sort of medieval cloths, gets down on his knee and offers Yoko a rose and professes his undying love for her!"

Mina covered her mouth with her hands, giggling. "Really? What did she do?"

"Well, I was busy trying to hold off the skeletons that were actually doing their job and trying and stop us, but all poor Yoko can do is gape at it. She told me afterwards that she wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not. Eventually, of course, she blasted it with a fireball, but not before the summoner had time to call the demon an incompetent fool."

"Well, he has a point," Mina said. "I mean, I'm guessing he didn't summon that demon to flirt with Yoko." She shook her head. "I'm going to have to remember to tease her about that when she gets back."

Soma grinned. His only regret about taking the job to work with Arikado's Special Investigations organization as a warrior against the forces of darkness was that it kept him away from Mina more than he would like, but he could live with that so long as he was making the world a safer place.

Suddenly, the television, which had been broadcasting the results of some sports game, let out a long, piercing tone and flashed BREAKING NEWS. As the eyes of everyone in the café turned to it, the screen changed to show a worried looking news anchor.

"Breaking news from the city of Uminari," the anchor said, his voice shaking slightly. "An unknown force has caused many of the trees in the city to grow uncontrollably, leading to thousands of yen in damages." The anchor disappeared, and in his placed images and videos started flashing across the screen, showing the trees twisting and warping, shattering pavement as roots extended. The anchor's voice continued." This comes in the wake of the strange damage to a street corner two weeks ago, damage for which no one has been able to come up with a reasonable explanation." The anchor re-appeared. "We've asked renowned biologist Satou Tamura if he has any input on this… situation. Mr. Satou?"

An image of a man who looked to be somewhere in his sixties appeared. "I'm sorry, but there's not much I can say," he said, shaking his head. "I've been a biologist for almost forty years now, and I have never seen anything like this."

Before Soma could hear any more, his cell phone started ringing. Quickly glancing at the caller ID, he wasn't surprised to see that it was Arikado.

"Yes, Arikado?" he asked, trying to catch the rest of the news broadcast while still paying attention to what his boss had to say.

"Have you seen the news report?" Arikado asked, his voice grim.

"Yeah, I'm just looking at it now? What happened?"

"That's what I need you to find out. I know you're on vacation, Soma, but this is big, and since Yoko is still cleaning up in England and Julius is off in South America, you're the only one I can trust if this turns out to be as dangerous as I believe it's going to be."

Soma bit back a sigh. "Yes, I'll head out there as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Soma," Arikado said, softening his voice slightly. "I truly am sorry to interrupt your time with Mina like this, and if I had any other options I would take them. Goodbye, and give me an update as soon as you discover anything." With that, he hung up.

Soma slowly closed his phone before turning to look at Mina. "Look, Mina…" he started, but she held her hand up.

"It's alright, Soma," she said, smiling sadly. "I knew when you joined up with Arikado and the others that things like this might happen." She looked up at the television screen. "So long as you're able to stop anyone from getting hurt or killed, I'll be glad." She turned back to him. "Just promise me you'll be careful, won't you."

"Don't worry, I will," Soma said. "Well, let's finish our lunch, why don't we?"

"That sounds nice."

Forty five minutes later, Soma had dashed back to his apartment, grabbed his away bag that he kept prepared at all times, and was boarding a train for Uminari.

* * *

Yuriko nodded. "Unfortunately, I do not have much to add. I believe that I have tracked down the tree that started this mess, but I am not certain. Or do you want to start with the light that ended the crisis?" Soma perked up.

"Light, that's new." Yuriko nodded.

"Well, within a few minutes of the tree's unexplained growth, a series of bright pink lights washed over the city, which I can only assume is some sort of spell. These were followed by a single large beam that hit one of the trees. Almost immediately, they all started shrinking back to their normal sizes." She shook her head. "My partner, Yamamoto Akinobu, is trying to track down the origin point of this magic, but so far he hasn't had much luck." Soma leaned back, thinking.

"Let's give him some more time and start on the tree," he said finally. Yuriko nodded sharply.

"Very well, I'll take you there immediately."

As the car made its way through the street, avoiding roads that were still damaged, Soma closed his eyes. As he reached deep into his mind, the car seemed to fall away, leaving Soma standing in a spotlight, surrounded by total darkness. Soma ignored this, instead seeking one of the many souls that resided within him.

'Treant?' he thought, gazing into the darkness.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, finally, a rumble echoed through Soma's head as an ancient force awakened and slowly dragged itself into the light around Soma. It took the form of a massive tree, covered in moss and scars.

'Thy will, Master?' the Treant rumbled, it's voice formed not by vocal cords but the vibration of its bark. Two small lights shone in the holes that marked the possessed tree's eyes, a sight that had struck fear into Soma when he first saw the creature.

'I'm going to need your help soon, Treant,' Soma said calmly, no longer remotely intimidated by the former monster, since no soul that had accepted Soma's dominance was even capable of harming him unless he allowed it. Besides, Treant was a fairly common soul for Soma to call on; it might not be the strongest soul at Soma's command, but its ability to 'talk' to other trees had come in handy dozens of times.

'By thy will, Master.' Soma smiled.

'Glad to know you're with me, Treant,' he said. The tree didn't respond with words, but Soma could sense that it was pleased with Soma's complement.

"Agent Cruz?" Yuriko asked, shaking Soma out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes to find her watching him curiously. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks," Soma said. "I was simply… preparing." Arikado had told him to keep his true nature secret as much as possible, even around other agents.

She didn't seem completely convinced, but kept quiet and focused on navigating the city. Finally, she pulled over. "We're almost there, but we have to walk the rest of the way."

"Okay," Soma said.

The pair was stopped by an officer as they reached the tape that marked a damaged area, but after Yuriko showed him her badge and muttered a few words he let them through.

Soma quickly realized how Yuriko had known this was where the damage started; the entire area was in ruins. The road was broken in half where the roots of the tree had unnaturally expanded, and cleanup crews were dashing around, trying to bring some semblance of order to the situation.

Careful not to disturb anyone or anything, Yuriko led Soma to one of the trees along the side of the road. It looked as innocent as the rest of them, but even without asking any of the souls for a closer look, Soma could sense the power radiating off it.

"Just a moment," Soma said, stepping forward and placing his hand against the tree. 'Treant?'

'Immediately.'

Images started flashing through Soma's mind,

_Sun. Water. Soil._

_ Those things were in abundance, and all was good._

_ Vibrations. Forms, moving across the not-soil that surrounded the soil. Many. _

_ Two sets of vibrations stopped nearby. An aura followed, a powerful thing. Something beyond the tree, beyond the soil, beyond the water. Only the sun matched it. _

_ The tree felt fear._

_ The air moved, pressing against the bark, the leaves. Disturbances, unnatural things._

_ Words._

_ "You sure were great today, Daiki!" High, female, young, happy._

_ "Oh, no, not really… it's just because we had a good defense." Male, young, bashful._

_ Aura still present. _

_ More sounds; not words… giggles. Silence, then more male words._

_ "I want to show you something. Some kind of stone." _

_ The Aura strengthened. The tree tried to recoil._

_ "Ohh, it's so beautiful!" Female, excited._

_ "I found it this morning, and I thought you might like it, Akemi. Here you go."_

_ The Aura peaked._

_**JEWEL SEED: SERIAL X. AWAKENING.**_

_ Pain. Aura reacting, twisting, shaping. Screams._

_**WISH ACCNOWLAGED: "TOGHETHER FOREVER". TAKING ACTION. DEFENSIVE FORM FOUND, ASSUMING CONTROL.**_

_ The Aura reached for the tree, claiming it. Resistance was futile._

_**FORM DEEMED INSUFFICIENT FOR DEFENSIVE MEASURES. ACCELERATING GROWTH.**_

_The tree had never wished so much that it could move. _

_ Pain beyond pain._

_ Unsustainable growth. Sunlight insufficient, bolstered by not-sun. Water insufficient, bolstered by not-water._

_ Leaving the soil, breaking the not-soil. No no no no no no…_

_**COLLECTING MORE DEFENSIVE MATTER. STAND BY…**_

_Other trees, more pain. Growth. Assailed by screams. Wrong…_

_**DEFENSIVE FORM ESTABLISHED. WISH: "TOGETHER FOREVER" COMPLETED. STANDING BY FOR ADITIONAL WISHES.**_

_Time passed, but the tree couldn't determine how much. All it knew was pain and fear._

_**WARNING, POTENTIAL HOSTILE AREA SEARCH DETECTED, SEEKING CORE. STAND BY.**_

_Rescue…_

_**EMERGENCY! HOSTILE BOMBARDMENT CLASS SPELL DETECTED. TAKING ACTI…**_

_More pain, but different. Cleansing pain. Aura receding, driven away by another. Tree's splitting. Second force retreated._

_ Freedom._

Soma gasped slightly as he pulled his hand away from the tree. Even with Treant translating the raw sensations of a tree into a more human context, the communication was still fragmented and difficult to understand. He was lucky he hadn't needed to do it for very long, or he would have gotten a killer headache.

And the second train of thought, the one that had caused this. It seemed more mechanical than anything, almost as it was some sort of AI that had gone haywire. What was really confusing, however, was that it didn't seem malevolent. It had acted like forcing trees to grow unnaturally, causing massive damage and putting lives at risk, was the most natural thing in the world.

"Are you alright?" Yuriko asked. "Agent Cruz, answer me!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Soma said, smiling at the way the woman's previously cool voice was shaking. "Just… talking to the tree."

"Really?" Yuriko said, glancing around to make sure none of the street workers were paying too much attention. "Did you discover anything?"

"I think so," Soma said. "I have to ask, after the light got rid of the massive trees, were two kids found here? A boy named Daiki and a girl named Akemi?"

Yuriko blinked before pulling a smart phone out of her pocket and flicking through screens for a few moments. Finally, she nodded. "You're right, a Hayashida Daiki and Fujii Akemi were found around here and taken to the nearest hospital, since they were both unconscious. The girl was released almost an hour ago, but Mr. Hayashida is still there, being treated for a concussion." She glanced at Soma. "Do you think they're involved in this?"

"I'm not certain," Soma said. "I doubt it was intentional, but I think they found something that caused this. The tree overheard them talking, and Daiki said he wanted to show Akemi something just before everything started growing."

Yuriko nodded slowly. "Did you see what it was?" Soma chuckled slightly.

"Unfortunately, trees don't have eyes, so I couldn't see anything." Yuriko shook her head, a rueful smile tugging at her lips.

"I guess that would be to easy, wouldn't it?" she said. "Well, we should head over to the hospital, see if we can figure out what exactly happened here." As the pair made their way back through the ruined street, Yuriko lowered her voice. "I've never heard of magic that allows people to talk to trees," she whispered.

"It's a very rare skill," Soma said carefully. "And it's one of several rare skills that I possess. I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss most of them. Orders from Arikado, you know how it goes."

Yuriko nodded. "I know."

After a few minutes, Soma broke the silence. "Can you do magic?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. My partner can do some simple tracking spells, but even he's not what most would consider serious talent." She glanced at him. "I'm curious to see what else you have up your sleeve, Agent Cruz."

"Could you please just call me Soma?" Soma groaned. "'Agent Cruz' makes me sound old."

Yuriko chuckled slightly. "Very well. It's just that, from what Mr. Arikado has said about you, you're one of the best agents in the organization. I was simply trying to be respectful."

"Thanks," Soma said, "but you've probably been doing this longer than I have." Yuriko shrugged, and Soma continued. "I'm afraid I have to do something quickly, so I won't be able to talk." With that, he closed his eyes and called up a few of his souls.

"Master?" A beautiful woman said sensually. All she was wearing was a skimpy black bikini (and she only wore that because Soma made her.) This had dual benefits for her: it left her long, bat-like wings free, and it aided in her feeding habits, for this soul was that of a Succubus. Behind her stood another, smaller woman who was dressed in a very similar fashion, though her bikini was pink. A short distance away hovered the Witch soul, along with a younger, slightly scrawny girl who was clutching a battered broom. Between the two groups was the massive form of Treant.

"Thank you for coming, all of you," Soma said, looking between the souls. "Treant, I need you to show the others the memories you got from the tree. Witch, you and your apprentice are going to analyze the signature of the aura that started this mess. If we can't find whatever caused this with Mr. Daiki, then we'll have to track it down ourselves before it activates again." He turned to the Succubus. "You and Lilith are going to try to figure out more about that burst of energy at the end, the one that got rid of the first aura."

"Yes, Master," everyone chorused before fading back into the darkness. Soma didn't leave, however, but called for Persephone.

"What do you require, Master?" the young woman wearing a blue maid outfit asked when she appeared, curtsying.

"I'd like you to watch my talk with Mr. Daiki. I don't think he'll have anything to hide, but best to have a second opinion, just in case." Persephone grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"I'll do my very best, Master Soma!" she said.

"Thanks, Persephone." With that, Soma allowed himself to slip back into the outside world.

The last two years had seen a dramatic shift in how he interacted with the souls under his command. When he had first learned of his powers inside the Solar Eclipse of 2035, he had seen them as a burden as much as a benefit, and hadn't been sad to see them vanish over the course of the following year. However, once he had taken the time to understand them, to see them not as defeated enemies but helpers, he had started to form friendly relations with them. It had helped that, as he absorbed more souls from a certain type of monster, they had merged to form a "super soul," which was stronger and smarter than the sum of its parts.

"We're almost there," Yuriko said as she glanced at Soma, clearly restraining his curiosity over what he had been doing.

"Thank you." After several moments, the silence in the car got to Soma. "I was just trying to get a better sense of the energy that warped the trees, so that, if I come across it, I'll be able to recognize it immediately."

"That is probably wise," Yuriko said.

Finally, the car pulled up in the parking lot of the Uminari City Hospital. The pair got out and made their way to the main entrance. Soma let Yuriko talk to the receptionist, and she once again showed her badge and had a short conversation to convince the young woman to cooperate with them.

"Hayashida Daiki, Hayashida Daiki…" the receptionist muttered, scanning the computer screen in front of her, though her eyes flicked to Yuriko and Soma a couple times. "He's in room 214, just up the stairs and on your left."

"Thank you very much," Yuriko said as the pair made their way past the desk and through the stairwell door. After a minute of searching, they found the right room and peeked in.

There were three people within: a boy that Soma assumed was Daiki, an older man sitting at his side with his back to the door; he was likely the boy's father, and a nurse reading off a clipboard. Soma gently knocked on the doorframe to get everyone's attention.

"Yes?" the nurse asked.

"My name is Cruz Soma, and I work for the government's Special Investigations division," Soma said, pulling his badge out in case anyone asked to see it. "I need to have a word with young Mr. Daiki, if you don't mind."

The nurse and Daiki's father shared a look before the man spoke up. "Is this about what happened this morning?" he asked warily, rising to his feet.

"It is, but don't worry, your son isn't in any trouble," Soma said reassuringly. "We simply want to make sure nothing like this happens again, and we think your son might know something."

"My nephew, actually," the man said. "I'm sure you don't mind if I stick around," he continued slightly aggressively, almost seeming to dare Soma to refuse.

"No problem at all, sir," Soma said while he and Yuriko made their way into the room.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you too it," the nurse said as she beat a hasty retreat. Soma pulled another chair around so that he could sit across from Daiki's uncle while Yuriko took up a position near the window, seeming content to watch.

"What do you want to know?" Daiki asked nervously.

"This morning, you found something, didn't you? Some kind of stone." Daiki nodded.

"I… I'm on the local soccer team, so I go out to run every morning," he said, still stumbling slightly over his words. "I was running through the park when I happened to see something shining under a bush."

"Please, don't worry," Soma said gently. "I'm not accusing you of anything, I just need to know what happened."

"Okay," Daiki said. "I went over to see what it was, and I found a weird stone. It looked like a gem, but it was way too rough, especially for how smooth it looked." Daiki took a deep breath. "I… picked it up. I thought it looked pretty, and I wanted to give it to… a friend of mine."

"Akemi?" Soma asked, just to make absolutely sure. Daiki paled slightly.

"Yes, Akemi. Well, I didn't see her until after today's soccer game." He closed his eyes.

"What happened?" Soma asked gently. "What happened when you gave the stone to her?"

"I… don't really know," the boy said. "We were talking, and I showed it to her. She reached out, and our hands touched, and suddenly everything started shaking, the stone was humming, and… something was screaming. The last thing I remember was a flash of light, then I woke up here."

"Is the stone still with you?" Soma asked. He was almost certain that it wasn't, but he had to confirm that. Daiki shook his head.

"No, it was gone. I must have dropped it when I was knocked unconscious."

'More likely it disappeared on it's own,' Soma thought grimly. He had only one more question.

"This question will sound a bit odd, but I must ask that you answer it truthfully. What were you thinking just before the stone reacted."

Daiki blinked, glancing at his uncle, who shrugged. Finally, the boy answered, his cheeks turning red. "I… I was just thinking how nice it was to be with her, and how I wished we could stay together."

'Awww,' Persephone cooed in Soma's mind.

"Thank you, you've been a big help," Soma said, standing. "Do you have anything to add?" he asked Yuriko, who quickly shook her head. "We won't disturb you anymore, but if you remember anything else that you think might be helpful, or if you find this gem again, please contact us." As he said this, Soma quickly wrote his work phone number on the back of a card and handed it to the boy. Nodding politely to Daiki's uncle, he slipped out of the room.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was the point of the last question?" Yuriko asked as they made their way back to the car.

"Well, something I heard from the tree made me think that the growth wasn't random," Soma explained. "I was simply confirming it. I believe that the stone grants wishes."

"Really? What makes you think that? Personally, I don't see the connection between, 'staying with my girlfriend,' and 'giant trees wrecking the city.'"

"If I'm right, then this object isn't sentient, so it can't distinguish the subtle nuances of human thought," Soma explained. "Instead, it takes a very literal approach. The words of his wish were that they should stay together forever. The gem interpreted this in such a way that it made some sort of defensive barrier out of the trees." Soma took a deep breath. "That means that, wherever this thing is, we need to find it before someone else gets their hands on it. If this is the result of a simple, innocent wish, I'd hate to see what it makes of a deliberately hostile one."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes before Yuriko spoke up. "Unfortunately, we don't seem to have many leads as to where this gem might be."

"True," Soma said. "Let's see how your partner's doing, maybe the other spell will give us somewhere to start."

Yuriko nodded and pulled her phone out again, quickly pushing a few buttons before placing it on the dashboard of the car. She had set it to speaker, since Soma could hear it ring twice before a tired man answered.

"Hey, Yuriko," he said. "I'm glad you called, I have something to tell you, but first, have you met that agent from HQ yet?"

"I have, Akinobu, and he's right here. Soma?"

"Hello," Soma said.

"Hello, Agent Cruz," Akinobu said.

"Just call me Soma," Soma said quickly.

"I… okay, if you want." Akinobu cleared his throat. "I believe that I have discovered where the second spell came from."

"Excellent! Give us the address, and we're on our way," Yuriko said. Akinobu quickly did, and Yuriko drove off.

"So, what have you two been up to?" the third agent asked over the phone. "Make any progress on the trees?"

"Yes, we have," Soma said. "We believe that a boy found a powerful magical object that grants wishes, and, not knowing what it did, accidently thought something that was misunderstood as a wish to make the trees grow the way they did."

"Wonderful," Akinobu groaned. "Have we recovered the object yet?"

"I'm afraid not, he didn't have it anymore when we visited him in the hospital. We're hoping for some sort of clue on your end."

"Well, first we have to know if this is even the right place," Akinobu said. "I'll see you when you arrive." With that, he hung up.

"We're here," Yuriko said a few minutes later. Soma looked up at the massive white tower, it would certainly give a nice vantage point for any spells.

A man who looked to be in his thirties met the pair at the door. His light brown hair framed a more traditionally Asian face, marking him as being of mixed parentage. His suit was more rumpled than Yuriko's, and the tired look on his face matched his voice over the phone.

"Hello, Yuriko, Soma," he said. "It's up on the roof. I've already gotten us clearance from the manager."

"Thank you, Akinobu," Yuriko said. Akinobu glanced curiously at Soma as he stepped aside.

"No offence, kid," he said, "but you seem a bit young for this."

Yuriko blinked, her jaw dropping at her partner's words, but Soma simply chuckled. "You are not the first to say so, Akinobu. However, I wonder, should age be judged by years, or by experiences?"

The older man laughed quietly. "Touché, Soma, touché. Well, let's see if I got the right place." Yuriko shook her head, sighing.

As the elevator rose to the top of its shaft (which was several floors below the roof,) Soma closed his eyes, letting his magical sense extend. After a few moments, he detected a concentration of ambient energy from somewhere above him, an energy that felt something like what he had briefly experienced in the tree's memories.

'Is this it, Succubus?' he thought quietly. After a moment, the soul answered.

'It is, Master.' Her normally seductive tone was tempered by a rare feeling: awe. 'And if this is what we're feeling after several hours of deterioration, the spell that created it must have been truly incredible.'

'What level of power are we talking?'

'I can't tell exactly from here, but certainly something to be taken very, very seriously. What is even more interesting is that this is mortal magic, not any demonic or heavenly force. A human did this.'

'I'll keep that in mind,' Soma thought before opening his mouth. "I think this is the right place, there's certainly enough energy floating around."

Akinobu blinked. "You can already feel it? We're barely halfway up."

Soma shrugged. "As I said, there's a lot of ambient magic around here, and it only grows more pronounced as we go higher."

There was a minute of silence before the elevator's bell rang and the doors slid open, revealing a deserted corridor. The trio quickly made their way to the exterior stairs that led to the roof itself.

"…Yes this is the place, no doubt about it," Soma said.

"What can you tell us, Soma?" Yuriko asked.

'Well, Succubus?' Soma thought.

To his surprise, it was a different soul that answered, one that rarely spoke even after being healed by Soma: the tormented beast Gergoth. 'Master,' it rumbled, 'the shape of this magic is similar to what Gergoth and Master use to breath beams of destruction.'

'That's right, Master,' Succubus said, her voice indicating that she was pouting. 'Which I could have told you without my assistant's help.'

'Be nice, Succubus,' Soma chided gently. 'So, whoever cast this must have somehow found out where the gem was and then blasted it, shattering it's power.'

When he put this theory by the others, Akinobu nodded. "That sounds about right, and it would explain why so much energy was put into the spell: the tree was almost half a kilometer away. Unfortunately, that doesn't bring us much closer to finding out who did this."

"Maybe we don't need magic to find that piece of information," Yuriko said, her face thoughtful. "On our way up, I saw several security cameras. If one of them got a glimpse of our unknown practitioner, we'll be able to track them down."

"Good idea, Yuriko," Soma said. He was about to head back to the stairs with the others when Witch spoke up.

'Master, could we stay here a moment. I have some information.'

'Sure,' Soma said. "Hey, Yuriko, Akinobu, could you two go on ahead. I have something I need to do here. I'll be right behind you."

Akinobu seemed like he was about to disagree, but Yuriko nudged him and nodded. "We'll go get the security records that we need, you."

"Thank you," Soma said, watching the pair leave. Finally, he turned and walked to the edge of the building.

'You've finished deciphering the gem's aura, haven't you,' he thought, turning to face the projection of the witch,

'We have, and it's not pleasant. In terms of raw power, it's stronger than the spell that was cast here, though most of its energy was focused on bending the trees to its will.' She paused to take a breath. 'What's most interesting, however, is that I sense traces of its energy around here; faint and almost overshadowed by the human spell, but it is here.'

'How did it get all the way from over there to here?' Soma wondered, his eyes distant. Finally, he nodded. 'I assume you want to head out and try to track the gem?'

'Yes, Master.'

'Thank you. Bat, Ghost,' Soma thought, summoning two more souls from the depths of his mind.

'Yes, Master?' the flying rodent squeaked as it appeared, hovering in the air. The ghost didn't speak, but it's eyes shone with interest.

'Same plan, you two,' Soma said. 'Are you all prepared?'

'Yes, Master,' the three souls said.

Soma nodded before bowing his head. "_Come forth into the mortal realm, o souls of mine_," he intoned, his coat whipping in a non-existent wind.

The three projections disappeared, replaced by two glowing blue and a red ball of energy, all of which started circling Soma.

"_Unite thy powers, let your companions' strengths overcome thy own weaknesses. Bat! Witch! Ghost! __**Combine!**_"

The three lights spun to form a triangle in front of Soma before slamming together in a flash of light. As Soma opened his eyes, he studied what looked like an ordinary Bat familiar floating in front of him before nodding in satisfaction.

"We'll contact you when we find something," three voices said quietly before the bat flapped away.

Over time, Soma and his souls had needed to work out new ways to overcome the various challenges that they had found themselves faced with. One of their most successful experiments had been the Combination ritual. This particular variant combined Bat's small, unobtrusive nature and flight abilities with Witch's knowledge of magic and ability to sense it. However, it hadn't been until Soma had discovered that Ghost's Spiritual Separation ability allowed the familiars to travel away from Soma himself that this had become a practical application of power.

Still, he wouldn't have dared attempt it without the Chaos Ring; without the added source of converted chaotic magic Soma would never be able to bear the high cost of magic.

He watched his souls flit away into the gathering darkness before turning to and heading after his human companions.

By the time he was able to gain access to the security room, the others seemed to have found what they needed.

"It wasn't all that hard," Akinobu said. "We knew when this all happened, so we just looked a the footage from that time, and lo and behold, there's someone running up to the roof at the right time."

"I don't know," Yuriko said, looking at the picture. "She looks a bit young, doesn't she?"

That was an understatement, Soma thought as he stared at the girl. She looked like she was ten at most; her short hair tied up in two cute little braids that bounced as she sprinted up the stairs. She was probably still in school, but since it was the weekend she wore a bright yellow blouse over an orange skirt rather than any recognizable school uniform.

"Should age be judged by years, or by experiences?" Akinobu asked, nodding to Soma. "She's the only one who goes up to the roof at the time the spell was cast, so even if she didn't do it herself, she might have seen the one who did." He pointed. "Besides, that weasel, or whatever it is, is acting suspicious," Soma finally noticed the small mammal running up the stairs behind the girl.

"Maybe it's a pet?" Yuriko said. Akinobu shook his head.

"I'd say familiar, myself." He shrugged. "Though I must say I'm surprised it's not a cat, I thought witches liked cat familiars."

'Hey! That's… completely true,' the Student Witch thought from the back of Soma's mind. He forced a laugh down.

"Well, perhaps," Yuriko said. She turned to Soma. "Did you find anything up there while we were gone?"

"I needed some space to cast a tracking spell for the object we're looking for, but it might be a while before it finds anything," Soma said. Akinobu blinked.

"I know a few tracking spells, and none of them work on their own. Which one are you using?"

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say," Soma said.

After a moment of silence, Yuriko nodded. "Very well, we should give it time to work." She glanced at Akinobu, noting the surprised look on his face. "Mr. Arikado told us to trust Soma and support his investigation, so that's what we're going to do." Soma made a mental note to thank Arikado later.

"Well, it's starting to get late," Akinobu said. "So unless your tracker finds something, we should probably head back to the safe house, give Mr. Arikado our report."

Soma opened his mouth to agree when Ghost spoke in the back of his mind. 'Master, we've found something.'

'Where?' Soma asked.

'There is a small park near a bay, not far to the west of where you are currently located, Master. You will be able to find us from there.'

'Right.' Soma looked up. "My track has found something at a small park near a bay, just west of here."

"I know it," Yuriko said. "Is it the gem?"

"I believe it is, yes."

"Then let's go!" Akinobu said. Nodding, everyone made their way out to Yuriko's car and drove as quickly as they could on the still damaged roads.

'Has it activated yet?' Soma asked his familiars. After a moment, Ghost answered, probably for Witch.

'Not yet, Master. There seems to be something… odd about it.'

'Don't get too close to it,' Soma cautioned. 'Who knows what this thing might do to you.'

A few tense minutes later, Yuriko pulled up at the entrance to the park. Thankfully, it seemed that most of the people had gone home, as night was beginning to fall. Hopefully that meant that they wouldn't have any interference.

However, as the trio made their way towards where the three souls were waiting, a sudden keen split the air.

'Master! A small rodent touched the gem!' Ghost cried. 'It is warping its shape! Hurry!'

"We've got to move, something activated it!" Soma called as he broke into a run.

"A person?" Yuriko asked. Soma glanced back to see that both his companions had drawn pistols, each with the long black tube of a silencer attached to the end.

"Thankfully, no, just some creature that had the misfortune to come into contact with this gem." Soma said, reaching into his left pocket to unsheathe Muramasa, its pitch-black blade licked by demonic red fire.

A moment later, the trio finally caught sight of the animal that had found the gem. It looked like an oversized mouse, but its dark fur was ridged, and upon close examination turned out to be some sort of spines instead, and its tail was tipped with a nasty-looking blade. Its red eyes glinted malevolently as it beheld the three humans standing before it.

Soma listened as two hand guns started firing, their silencers turning the guns' bangs into whispers. Still, the bullets tore deep holes into the creature's body, one bullet even putting out its left eye. After a few seconds, the guns clicked empty.

A moment of silence passed before red light started playing across the beast's wounds, and when the light faded, Soma sighed at the sight of a completely healed enemy.

"Oh, that's just not fair!" Akinobu moaned as the giant mouse charged, its tail whipping.

Soma darted forward, drawing on years of experience in fighting monsters, as well as his enhanced strength and stamina. Just before the two met, the mouse brought its tail around in a deadly arch. Soma, however, had expected this and leapt over the swing, bringing Muramasa around to cut the spike off.

He had hoped that cursed blade would be able to permanently damage the beast, but he was destined to be disappointed. Though the mouse did shriek in pain, but its blade regenerated and swung at him again. Fortunately, it seemed that since he had hurt it the most, the creature was more focused on him than his allies.

That didn't help _him_ much, however, as the backswing of the tail caught Soma on the side, tossing him into a nearby tree. Blinking to clear the stars from his vision, Soma rolled to one side as the enemy lunged at him, its long fangs bared. It collided with the tree, causing it to shake, while Soma brought his blade down in a vicious arc that cleaved deep into its side, exposing ribs.

'We need to find its jewel,' he thought desperately as the horrific wound regenerated like a scratch. 'We could be here all night if we don't.'

'It's in the creatures belly, Master,' Witch said, and Soma briefly noticed his Bat familiar hanging from a nearby tree. 'How you're going to get there…'

Soma growled as he phased back, using Grave Keeper's power to make him move faster so as to dodge another swing of the razor tail. Yuriko and Akinobu had split up to flank the enemy and were still firing, hoping to wear down the creature's healing.

"Flame Demon!" Soma snarled as the beast charged again, pointing at it.

'FINALLY!' the former resident of Hell roared in Soma's mind, and a fraction of a second later five fireballs blasted from Soma's hand to smash into the charging enemy, causing it to recoil and shriek in pain as it burned.

"Nice one!" Akinobu called, only to gape as the fires cleared to expose a still healthy, yet absolutely enraged, giant mouse.

"You've got to be kidding," Soma muttered as he jumped over the tail, only to be hit again by a quick upswing. Flame Demon might not be the most powerful soul under his command, but it was the one he felt most comfortable using in front of his allies, since he wasn't supposed to expose his true nature. Normally, he would have gotten Alura Une or one of his fighting familiars, like Alastor or Gaibon.

'But there is a way you can do that, Master,' a voice whispered silkily as Soma rolled out of the way of another hate filled lunge. 'But you do seem to be having fun…'

'Zephyr, I'm _really_ not in the mood for jokes right now!' Soma growled. 'If you have something to say, say it!' The time demon laughed playfully.

'While the beast is likely too strong, even for my powers, your human allies will be frozen in time if you unleash me, allowing you to dispatch this annoyance with your full strength.'

'Sounds good, let's do it… NOW!' Soma said.

A pulse of shadow flew from Soma, leaving a darkened world behind it. Nothing moved save Soma and the monster, who also retained their colors. Even the bullets were stilled.

"Alura Une! Rip this thing apart!" Soma snarled. "Farmer, support her."

'Of course, Master,' the plant girl said sweetly as she appeared behind him. A silent skeleton wearing a straw hat also arose, bowing its head and raising two glowing hands.

As the mouse charged once more, thick, thorny vines reached out and impaled it in a half-dozen places, causing it to squeal in agony. As Alura Une lifted the struggling beast into the air, Soma caught sight of a glow within its stomach, shining through the thick fur and flesh.

"Bring it closer!" he shouted, and the plant woman immediately complied. The mouse tried to scratch Soma, but he was out of reach.

Three quick slashes later, a triangle of flesh had been carved from the creature, and Soma used Muramasa to pull the shining gem out of the wound before it could regenerate, dropping the whole bloody mess to the ground.

The mouse's squeals faded as it shrunk to its normal size. Alura Une dropped the corpse to the ground and faded just as Zephyr's cronomancy faded and the world resumed its normal coloration.

"What just happened?" Yuriko asked, staring at Soma as he put Muramasa away. "One second we're firing at that… thing, and the next you've won? What did you do?"

"I stopped time," Soma said, crouching down to study the gem. Its glow was fading slightly, transitioning from sky blue around the edges to a deep purple at the core. Still, Soma could sense that it held a dangerous amount of power.

'Final Guard,' he thought as he carefully reached for it. Best to get this over with.

'By thy will, you're Lordship,' the nigh-immortal knight intoned, and a silvery light formed a glove over Soma's hand, allowing him to pick the gem up safely.

"You… stopped… time…" Akinobu whispered, paling. Yuriko simply shook her head, and Soma heard her mutter something about crazy magic users and their casual defying of all natural laws.

'Wow, Master, way to break it to them gently,' Persephone teased gently.

'I was being hit by a giant mouse, I reserve the right to be grumpy,' Soma thought. "Let's head back this safe house that you mentioned, I doubt we'll find anything else in the dark."

The two agents snapped out of their respective thoughts and nodded, and the trio made their way back to the car, followed by a nearly invisible bat.

* * *

Several minutes passed in silence before someone else arrived at the sight of the battle in a blur of pink light. A young girl, wearing a white dress trimmed with blue and clutching a long staff tipped with a broken circle surrounding a large ruby sphere. If Soma had still been there, he would have recognized her as the same girl from the footage he had seen half an hour before.

"Yuuno? Where is it?" she asked, lowering her head to look at the ferret that had hopped off her shoulder as soon as she landed.

The golden- furred ferret stood up on its hind legs, looking around worriedly. Finally, it turned to look up at the girl.

"It's not here, Nanoha," the ferret, Yunno, said in perfect Japanese. "There are defiantly signs of a battle here, but the Jewel Seed is gone."

Nanoha gasped. "Who could have taken it? I thought you were the only one who was here looking for them?"

Yuuno shook his head, turning and darting into the shadows. He continued the conversation telepathically. 'So did I, but it appears that wasn't the case.' He paused when he found the corpse of the mouse. 'And it seems whoever found the Jewel Seed did not have access to Mid-Childa style magic.'

'What makes you say that, Yuuno?' Nanoha asked, stepping forward and peering into the darkness. The ferret seemed to pale even though he was covered by fur.

'I… wouldn't come over here if I were you, Nanoha,' he said. A small green light circle filled with odd symbols and shapes formed beneath him, and a patch of ground was dug up.

'Why not, Yuuno?' Nanoha asked, still making her way towards the ferret.

'No reason, just… I…' Yuuno said, shoving the mouse's body into the hole before putting the dirt back on top, hiding the mutilated body from view.

Nanoha stared at him suspiciously before sighing. "I just wish we could have gotten here faster, gotten another Jewel Seed, especially after what happened this morning…" Her face fell, and Yuuno darted back to her, rubbing his fuzzy head against her bare leg.

"Nanoha, what happened was a tragic mistake, but it wasn't your fault. Please stop being mad at yourself over it."

Nanoha smiled sadly as she reached down to pick her friend up, rubbing him gently against her face. "You're so nice, Yuuno," she cooed, causing the ferret to blush.

"Na…Nanoha, please!" he squeaked, causing the girl to giggle.

"Oh, Yuuno," she said. "Well, I guess we should head home, not much to do here."

"That sounds like a great idea, Nanoha," Yuuno said. "And tomorrow, I think you should really take a break. Don't even think about the Jewel Seeds unless you're forced to."

Nanoha's face contorted into a pout, but she sighed. "Okay, Yuuno, I'll take a break." With that, the pair made their way into the darkness back towards the residential suburbs.

Neither of them noticed a strange, dark shadow hovering among the trees, watching silently.

AN: Who was that figure, I wonder? Anyways, I hope anyone who bothered to read this likes it, and takes the time to review. It would mean a lot to me.


	2. Darkness Ascendant

AN: I own nothing and I'm not making any money off this or any other story.

Review Response:

drake202: I'm glad you like the story.

MagnamanZX: Thanks for the follow.

V: Normally, my beginnings are not as good as the rest of my story, so I hope that's a sign : ).

Nightraze: I plan to : ).

Chapter 2: Darkness Ascendant

Arikado steepled his fingers quietly as he leaned back in his chair, listening to Soma finish the tale of the day's events. After a few moments, he spoke.

"First, I must congratulate all of you on your successes, you are making better progress than I had dared to hope in such a short time." He raised a hand. "However, if what you say is true, then we still have a lot of work to do. One of the gems is still unaccounted for, and if there are two, then it is quite possible that there are more around. Not to mention that you say that the one you have is still dangerous."

"It is," Soma said, glancing at the dimly glowing object sitting on the desk that was pressed along the wall of the "study" of the safe house. Much of its power had faded, drained by trying to pierce Soma's Final Guard. Still, even a cursory scan of it could tell that it was a bomb merely waiting for something to light its fuse.

"Hmmmm…" Arikado said, his eyes distant as he shuffled through possibilities in his head. "I will be dispatching Yoko Belnades to your position, she should arrive sometime on Tuesday. Once she arrives, you will work together to find a method of neutralizing these objects." Everyone nodded. "And now onto the mysterious girl you believe is responsible for defeating the magical trees. I will run her through our databases, but I don't believe that there will be much there." The pale man's eyes flicked from Soma to Yuriko and Akinobu, who were sitting to one side of the computer the group was using to communicate. "Taking into account the difference in power levels, I recommend that you leave the gems themselves to Agent Cruz, and focus your efforts on searching city databases for any possible information on this girl."

"Yes, sir," Yuriko said, bowing slightly to Arikado, who nodded.

"Soma, that leaves you to concentrate on hunting any more of these gems that may exist. Find them before they cause any more damage."

"I will," Soma said. Arikado nodded, a tight smile on his face.

"I have complete confidence that the three of you can end this situation before it grows any worse. If there is anything that you need, do not hesitate to requisition it."

"Yes, sir," everyone said. Nodding, Arikado leaned forward on his end and cut the link.

A moment of silence filled the room before Akinobu stood. "Well, we should probably get some rest, we're all going to have a busy day tomorrow." With that, he slipped out of the room and headed up the stairs.

"Are you going to look after that," Yuriko asked, nodding to the gem.

"Yes. We don't know what it is or what it might do, so best to keep an eye on it, at least until Yoko can get here and do something about it." Carefully, he reactivated Final Guard and picked the gem up, once more feeling a slight drain on his energy. "Well, good night, I guess."

"I'll probably be staying up for a while," Yuriko said. Soma nodded before making his way up the stairs.

The safe house was almost exactly the same as any of the others Soma had been to over his career. The first thing notable about them was the presence of wards, which may not have been as strong as the centuries-old ones around Hakuba Shrine or the organization's headquarters, but could still handle most dark creatures with ease. Even something powerful like a demon lord would take time to break through the multi-layered wall of magical energy, giving any residents time to prepare or escape.

Once inside, the safe house had a cool, bland nature. It was clean, and had enough space for a team of agents to live in, but lacked any sense of being a permanent home. It got the job done, but Soma had never met an agent who was happy to spend more time than necessary in one of these houses.

Glancing around the upper floor, Soma noted that one of the keys that had been hanging on the doorknob was missing, meaning that Akinobu had claimed that room. Soma stepped past it and grabbed the door handle across from it, opened the door, and stepped in.

The bedroom was more of the same, a simple bed tucked into one corner, with another small desk across the room from it under a window. A door led to a private bathroom, and there was a wardrobe in the remaining space. No pictures or other decorations adorned the walls.

Soma carefully placed the gem in one of the desk drawers after checking the space for any spiders that might accidently cause it to activate again. He then leaned over to the window and opened it.

'Anything out there?' he thought as a bat flew in, looking exhausted.

'No, Master,' Witch said, her voice matching Bat's demeanor.

'Great. Come on back, you need to rest,' Soma said, holding out a hand. The three souls quickly complied, reverting to their natural form and sinking back into his chest.

'Master,' Persephone said, stepping to the fore of Soma's mind. 'You wanted me to remind you to call Mina when you had a chance. She's probably worrying about you.'

Soma's eyes widened; in the excitement of the progress the team had made in their first day, he had almost forgotten his promise. "Thanks, Persephone," he muttered, pulling his phone and pressing a few buttons.

The phone only had a chance to ring once before Mina picked up; she must have been waiting on the other end. "Soma? Are you alright?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Yes, Mina," Soma said, smiling at the sound of his beloved's voice. "Sorry it took me so long, but we've been making progress over here."

"Really?" Mina said, her voice rising in excitement. "Does that mean you'll be home soon."

Soma felt bad for what he was about to say, but it had to be done. "I'm afraid I don't know when I'll be back, Mina. The situation's complex enough that it'll likely take a while to resolve it." Soma could almost see Mina's face falling, so he decided to give her some good news. "Still, Arikado has dispatched Yoko to help us, which will help."

"That's good to know," Mina said, smiling again. Soma knew that she had made her "older sister" promise to keep an eye on Soma whenever they worked together, and while Yoko may not have the raw power that Soma did, she was a talented and clever witch, more than capable of supporting him.

The two spoke for several more minutes before their mutual tiredness finally pulled them apart. Finally, Soma allowed himself to flop down on his bed and go to sleep.

Outside, a shadowy figure glided around the safe house, a pale hand hovering a few centimeters from the edge of the ward. After a few minutes, following whims beyond understanding, it drifted away and was swallowed by darkness.

* * *

Soma set out from the safe house the next day, leaving Yuriko and Akinobu behind to continue their research. He declined Yuriko's offer to take the car, instead using one of the bicycles, due to its better maneuverability and ability to off-road. Sometimes, Soma wished that magic was more widely accepted by the general public, since Black Panther would have been even better. Still, he had to make do with the tools he had available to him.

Once again, Witch, Bat, and Ghost separated from him, fluttering off into the sky to scan the edges of the city where the sight of a nocturnal animal would draw less attention. Soma, meanwhile, made his way deeper into Uminari.

The emergency crews had cleaned up the worst of the damage caused by yesterday's rampant tree growth, allowing traffic to move with some semblance of normalcy. Still, there were plenty of signs of what had transpired, and people moved with an unnatural caution, fearful that something else would happen to shatter their tranquil day.

Soma decided to focus his attention on the various parks around the city: the streets were too well traveled for something unusual like the gems to escape notice for long. However, there were plenty of places in a park that they could remain, unseen until some unfortunate creature stumbled across them and was corrupted.

As Soma peddled through the first space, not far from the bay, his thoughts drifted to the unknown girl that had interfered the day before. Were these gems her doing, or had some other power created them, only to leave her to try and retrieve them. When the team found her, would she be willing to cooperate with them? How had she gotten so powerful in the first place?

Shaking his head, Soma focused his attention back on his surroundings. Worrying about the girl wasn't his job; he was here to find the gems. Only when Yuriko and Akinobu found out who she was would he allow himself to worry about her.

The morning passed with no signs of gems, leaving a tired and slightly frustrated Soma to take a late lunch at a small, outdoor café.

'So, where should we go next?' he thought, chewing on a bite of rice as he studied a map of the city with X marks drawn through the parks he had already visited.

'From here, that one looks like it's the closest,' Persephone said, leaning over from where she was "sitting" across the table to point at a square on the map. 'However, that would mean we'd have to circle around here if we didn't find anything.'

'So if we went here first,' Soma said, tapping another spot. 'We'd be able to make a big loop, being more efficient overall.' The demon maid nodded.

'Sound's good, Master,' she chirped before giving the empty bowl of rice a pointed look. 'Still, you really should eat more than that. I know you want to keep going, but proper nutrition is good for you.'

'Yes, mother,' Soma said, smiling slightly. Persephone pouted.

'Master, it's my job to worry about you, since you don't take the time to worry about yourself!' Soma was about to console Persephone when Succubus interrupted.

'Master, there's something here,' she hissed, her normally smooth voice tinged with worry.

'One of the gems?' Soma thought, his eyes scanning the crowd. Now that the demon soul had pointed it out, he could feel the same tingle she had.

'I… don't think so, Master,' Succubus said, 'at least, not here. No, it seems more like an echo, that someone came across one and absorbed some of the ambient energy.'

Soma kept looking, trying to figure out who or what was giving off the energy. 'It's coming from her, right,' he thought, blinking in surprise. Succubus, who had appeared next to Soma, gasped.

'Yes… but she's…'

Soma and his souls were watching a young girl walk along the sidewalk, her head down. Despite the fact that her hair reached down to her legs and was the color of gold, both rare in Japan, Soma wouldn't have given her a second glance were it not for the magic coming off her. She was clearly a master at blending in.

'Well,' Soma said, rising slowly and placing a tip on the table as he left. 'How do you think we should play this?'

'We need to find out where she came into contact with a gem,' Persephone said. "But we can't just walk up to her and…"

'Master!' Witch's voice drifted through Soma's mind. 'We've found one of those gems!' Soma's eyes widened.

'I'm on my way!' he thought as he made his way to his bike. As worrisome as it was to let a potential lead walk away, securing another of those dangerous objects had to take precedent. 'Keep any and everything away from that gem!'

'Yes, Master,' Witch said.

Soma rode through the city as fast as he could, wishing he knew the city better so he could take some shortcuts. Still, Witch reported that the area around the gem was quiet, at least for the time being.

Soma rode into a parking lot at the edge of town, he quickly locked his bike up as he looked around, making sure no one was around. Once he knew the coast was clear, he dashed into the trees before jumping.

"Black Panther!" he hissed, and the air around him shattered. Soma shot forward, darting through the trees and trailing a shockwave, causing leaves and dirt to fly as he moved. It took him a tense minute to arrive at the spot where the gem lay.

As soon as Black Panther's shockwave dissipated, the bat familiar fluttered down to hover next to him. 'It's over there,' Witch said. Soma nodded, turning his attention to the buried object. Carefully summoning Final Guard, Soma fished the gem out and studied it. It looked identical to the other, except for the fact that it _might_ have been glowing a bit more, and it was draining his energy slightly faster. Still, he was more than able to handle it.

"I'll get this back to base," he muttered. "Could you three keep looking?"

'Of course, Master,' Witch said as Bat bobbed in the air. 'We'll contact you as soon as we find anything.'

'Thank you,' Soma thought, turning and jogging back through the forest, following the path he had carved on his way here. Soon, he was back on his bike and making his way to the safe house. Neither Akinobu nor Yuriko were there, having made their way to the city hall to look through the records and try to find the mysterious girl.

Thinking about this, Soma remembered the other girl he had seen, the blonde one. He needed to get that information to them as soon as possible, so they could expand their search. It took him a few minutes to properly secure the new gem, and after that he made his way to the city hall.

"Agent Cruz?" Yuriko asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Just Soma, please." Soma said, sitting down across the table from the pair "I found another person of interest." He held out his hand and summoned up the Doppelganger soul, bidding it to show the image of the girl he'd seen.

"Who's this?" Akinobu asked, peering at the girl. "She doesn't seem that special to me."

"Unfortunately, I don't know," Soma said. "I saw her briefly while searching the city, and she had the sense of one of the gems around her. I had to leave to secure another gem I had located, and thus was unable to determine anything more about her, not even where she was going." He sighed. "I don't know if she's actually important, but she could be. We're already looking for one child, what's one more?"

"Best to be certain," Yuriko agreed, nodding. "We'll look into her." She quickly took a picture of the Doppelganger. "We're doing fine here, Soma. You should probably get going."

"Yeah," Soma said. "See you later." With that, he made his way back outside, hoping to find another gem or two.

However, the rest of the day passed in frustration. As darkness fell, Soma had finished scanning the city parks, but hadn't found anything. Witch, Bat, and Ghost had also come up short, and made their way back to Soma. The others hadn't had much success either, but no one had really expected any different, not on the first day.

"Still," Akinobu said. "Mr. Arikado's reinforcements should arrive sometime tomorrow. That'll make things easier."

At that moment, Soma's phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, Soma wasn't surprised to see it was Yoko.

"Hello, Yoko," he said, causing the older woman to laugh.

"Glad to hear you're doing well, Soma," she said. "Though I thought you were going to be spending some time with Mina."

"I was, but duty called." Soma said, quickly switching on the speakerphone and setting it on the table so the others could hear, now that the personal greetings were out of the way.

"Too true, too true," Yoko said, dropping her bubbly voice. "Arikado filled me in on the situation, and I think I know how to neutralize these… gems, at least for a while."

"That's good to hear," Soma said.

"Mind you, until I see them, I can't be one hundred percent certain, but I'm hopeful."

"When do you think you'll be arriving, Ms. Belnades," Yuriko said.

"Probably sometime around noon tomorrow," Yoko said. "I'll be bringing Hammer with me; if I'm right he'll be able to help me. Don't worry, I've already cleared it with Arikado." Soma chuckled, thinking about how happy Hammer must be right now.

"Anyways, see you all whenever I do," Yoko said, the smile clear in her voice.

"Right, Yoko. Stay safe."

After Yoko had hung up, the other two agents turned to Soma. "Do you and Ms. Belnades know each other?" Yuriko asked.

"Yeah, we've worked together a lot, she's helped me out of a fair few scrapes." Soma said. "We've known each other for years."

"And who is this… Hammer?" Akinobu asked. "I've never heard of him."

Soma laughed. "He's another old friend of mine, but he's not actually part of the organization. No, he's a former US Army Ranger, current antiques merchant. Still, he can handle himself." Soma's face became thoughtful. "Though I do wonder why Yoko would need him."

"I guess we'll find out when they arrive, won't we." Akinobu said.

* * *

"Soma!" Hammer boomed, grabbing the younger man in a bear hug. "Good to see you, man! Good to see you!"

Soma had gone alone to meet Yoko and Hammer at the train station, which was thankfully almost empty at the moment. Yuriko and Akinobu had gone back to the city hall to continue their search for the two girls who might hold the answers to the problems facing the city. Meanwhile, Bat, Witch, and Ghost were out scanning the forests around the city for any sign of the gems.

"Hammer, please don't crush Soma," Yoko said, covering her mouth to hide a giggle. "_I'm_ the one who would have to explain to Mina, and I really don't want to have that conversation."

"Sorry," Hammer said, immediately letting go. Soma shook his head, smiling. Even if Hammer's arms had the strength to harm Soma, the white trench coat's defenses would have been more than enough to protect him. Still, Hammer always did whatever Yoko asked of him.

"It's great to see both of you," Soma said as he accepted a much gentler hug from Yoko. "How was England after I left?"

"Not to bad," Yoko said, brushing a lock of blonde hair out of her face. "Once the cult's summoner was eliminated, the rest were easy to round up. It was more tedious than anything, really." She looked around. "It's been years since I came to Uminari."

"You've been here before?" Soma asked.

"Just once, and only for a few days. There were reports of a small vampire infestation, but they turned out to be harmless," Yoko said.

"Harmless vampires?" Hammer asked, blinking. "Never really think of those two words going together."

"Well, there are several different kinds of vampires," Yoko responded. "Some, what we call 'light vampires,' are children of the day, as closely related to humans as they are to other vampires. They're rare, but generally willing to cooperate. Really, all I had to do was sit down and have a talk with the matriarch of the clan. Both of us laid out our concerns, and came to an agreement that everyone could live with." Yoko smiled.

The trip back to the safe house was pleasant, allowing Soma to catch up with Hammer, whom he hadn't had a chance to visit in a few months. The man's business was still running smoothly, and he was considering expanding. Meanwhile, Yoko was looking through one of her books, her brow furrowed.

Finally, Soma pulled into the drive of the safe house and led the others into the study before fetching the carefully stored gems.

"Hmm," Yoko said, touching the first jewel with the tip of her wand, causing a small hum. Finally, she let out a triumphant cry.

"I can make this work," she said happily. "Though, I think we're going to need the kukris, these things are big."

"Right, two kukris, coming up," Hammer said, grabbing the bag he had been carrying and pulling out two large, vicious looking knives. Yoko took them and laid them on either side of the gems.

Something in Soma's head clicked. "Of course! You're going to seal them like you sealed the souls to make stronger weapons!" he cried.

"Correct," Yoko said, grinning. "They'll still be very dangerous, but at least they'll be predictable. Besides, with the special sheaths I can prepare, they'll be as safe to handle as any enchanted weapon. Now, if you could both be quiet for a bit, I need to concentrate."

Soma and Hammer stepped back, leaving the witch alone at the table. She carefully pushed one dagger/gem pair aside, turning her full attention to the other. Placing the tip of her wand between them, she started chanting in a language that sounded like Latin. Slowly, the two objects rose into the air, the gem spinning around the kukri.

Yoko's hair started flapping in the magical wind, and Soma knew that if she was facing them, her eyes would be shining a bit. After a long moment, the blade of the kukri split from the hilt and started glowing white hot.

Slowly, the gem came to a halt, hovering in the space between blade and hilt. Once it was in place, Yoko lowered the blade back over the jewel, causing the whole weapon to flare.

Once Soma's eyes had cleared the spots from the fusing, he saw Yoko holding a new knife. The kukri's curve was gone, and the whole thing was a fair bit thicker, as well as having an outline of the gem just above the hilt. There was also a faint glow around the weapon, much like the demonic fire that licked Muramasa's length when it was called into service. Just looking at the weapon, it was clear that this was not something to mess around with, much like the powerful object it had come from.

"That should do it," Yoko said, reaching into her own bag to pull out a length of white leather, carefully wrapping the new knife up and setting it aside. "Just one more, and we'll be done until we find another of these gems."

"So, how much stronger are these things than the souls you fused with weapons?" Soma asked.

"They're not even on the same scale, Soma," Yoko said, taking a drink of water that Hammer had quickly brought her. She flashed a smile at the former soldier before she continued. "You never let me use any of the souls from the higher level monsters, the ones you needed a Magic Seal to get rid of, but I'm guessing that they're the only ones that could even compete."

A few minutes later, Yoko had successfully sealed the second gem and wrapped it up, prepared to make a proper sheath when she had regained her strength.

"So, Soma" Hammer said. "You need any help in finding any more of these gems?"

Soma hesitated. True, Hammer was a former Army Ranger, and had survived Castlevania in 2035. Still, the fact remained that he was only human, and if all the gems were able to create something as powerful as that mouse, he could be more of a burden than a help.

Thankfully, Yoko came to his rescue. "Hammer," she said. "Someone has to stay here and help me look after the key to the safe. I'm sure Soma's keeping it on him, but I think it'd be better if we were to hold onto it, so that it didn't fall out of his pocket at an inopportune time." She glanced at Soma. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

'The safe...' Soma thought. He'd forgotten all about the safe that was in the basement of every Special Investigations base, the one that was designed from the ground up to hold sensitive objects like these gems... Instead, he'd gone and stuffed them in a drawer.

Yoko must have read his face, because she started laughing. "That is so like you, Soma," she said. "Always thinking so many steps ahead that you forget the ones you're taking! I thought you'd just moved the safe to your room, not forgotten all about it!"

"Sorry..." Soma muttered.

Yoko smiled. "That's alright, Soma," she said. "Sometimes, things like that happen. Just… try to be more careful. I doubt Arikado would be happy if he had to build a new safe house in this city."

'Um, Master?' Witch's voice drifted through Soma's mind.

'Yes?' Soma responded, holding up a hand quickly. Both Yoko and Hammer quickly realized what was happening and went silent, watching Soma with interest.

'There's… something out here,' Witch said. 'Not a gem… but some kind of animal, a very magically powerful one.'

'I think it's a ferret,' Bat squeaked, causing Soma's eyes to widen.

'What is it doing?' Soma asked as he moved towards the door.

* * *

Yuuno sighed as he stopped on top of a log, looking around the forest. Ever since he had regained some of his strength, he had been slipping out of the house during the school week and looking for more Jewel Seeds. Now, it was more important than ever.

That girl with the dark cloak… who was she? Her Device, her training, everything pointed towards some sort of professional training, but she clearly wasn't part of the Bureau. Unfortunately, Yuuno was an archeologist and didn't know about any rouge mage groups, so he couldn't say where she might have come from or why she wanted the Jewel Seeds. Still, she didn't seem to be all bad. She hadn't tried to hurt Nanoha after the fight, just taken the Jewel Seed and left.

And then there was the matter of the unknown third party, the one that had killed the mouse that had been infected by a Jewel Seed. For a while, Yunno had considered the possibility that it was the blonde girl, but then he remembered that there had been no sign of Mid Childa magic in the area, and what Bureau records he had seen agreed that there were no creatures native to Earth that could handle a Jewel Seed's defensive form. No, there was something else going on, and it scared Yuuno that he didn't know what.

"I never should have gotten Nanoha involved in all this," he muttered. This was his mess to clean up; she shouldn't have had to put herself at risk for his sake. He had tried to convince her to just give him shelter for a few days, but she had insisted that he let her help. At the time it had seemed great; she was a much better match for Raising Heart than he was. But now… Yuuno sighed again. Now it was too late; if he insisted that Nanoha let him go on alone, she would think he didn't consider her competent anymore. Thanks to his hasty decision, she was stuck, and if something happened to her it would be all his fault.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice a dark shape flitting through the trees on his left. Turning, he was surprised to see a bat hanging from a nearby tree branch.

'I thought bats were nocturnal,' he thought before shrugging and moving on, leaving the creature to sleep. He heard the soft sound of wings behind him and spun around. Again, he saw the bat, hanging from a different branch. He could see its beady eyes fixed on him.

'Is it… following me?' he wondered, warily reaching out with his magic, only to recoil when he felt a pushback from the creature's own power.

Squeaking in surprise, Yuuno turned and sprinted into the undergrowth, listening as the bat took wing and pursued him. What was going on?! Shapeshifting was a very rare talent; it was only really through luck that he knew how to do it. But this was clearly no ordinary bat.

Darting around a tree, he dove into a hole at the base, trying to shield his magic from detection. He listened breathlessly as the bat fluttered around outside before stopping.

'Is it gone?' he thought, slowly poking his head out. For a long, wonderful moment, he thought it was, until he looked straight up and saw it hanging above him, it's fangs bared slightly.

He tried to run, only for a bolt of magic to slam into the ground in front of him. Spinning, he saw the bat preparing a second attack, clearly warning him not to move.

Yuuno's eyes narrowed. He may not be a powerful offensive mage like Nanoha, but he was more than capable of handling something like this. Baring his own teeth in challenge, he formed a Mid Childa circle under his feet before rising around him to create a shield. The bat dropped from its perch, studying him with interest. Then, it cocked its head, almost as if it was… communicating…

Yuuno's blood chilled. If it were calling for reinforcements, who knew how many would answer its call. He had to get out of here now!

The shield flickered as Yuuno switched tracks, rapidly calculating a short range Transfer. It would drain much of the strength he had regained under Nanoha's care, but it was better than dying and leaving her alone to face… whatever was coming. Focusing, he marked the path where he had first met Nanoha as his exit point, reasoning that it was close enough for him to walk back while being far enough away that any attempt to track the spell wouldn't give anything away.

The bat, thankfully, didn't seem to recognize what he was doing. Rather than make any attempt to interrupt his rather delicate spell, it simply kept hovering, probably keeping him pinned down for when its friends showed up to finish him off. After about ten seconds of concentration, Yuuno was able to cast his Transfer and vanished in a flash of green light.

He flopped down in the middle of the path, to tired to care if anyone saw him. Finally, after a minute of panting, he was able to drag himself to his feet and make his way back to Nanoha's house, praying that he hadn't just made things more difficult for the pair of them.

Back in the forest, Witch's eyes would have widened if she had still had any.

'Witch!' Master Soma called over the mental link, sensing her sudden distress. 'What happened?'

Slowly, she returned her attention to the link as Bat sadly fluttered back to a tree branch. The greatest fear of any soul that had accepted Master Soma's dominance was to fail him, no matter the circumstances. Even if she hadn't been combined with Bat and Ghost, Witch would have known that all three of them were feeling that pain right now. 'Master… I regret to inform you that the ferret escaped. It cast some kind of teleportation spell. I should have recognized what it was trying to do… I'm sorry.'

'Witch, I'm sure you all did the very best you could,' Master Soma said gently. 'Teleportation is a high-level skill, you had no reason to suspect that a ferret would be able to do that.' His thoughts became musing as he continued. 'On that note, I'm not sure how it managed to teleport. Assuming this is the same ferret that was with the girl…' He turned his attention back to her. 'Do you have a sense of the magic that ferret used?'

'Yes, Master,' Witch said, happy that she could help fix her mistake.

'Good. Return to me, we'll try and figure out what the ferret did and if there's any way to stop him in the future.'

'We're on our way,' she said. Bat immediately let go of the branch and turned back towards the city, flying with all speed.

* * *

The rest of the week passed slowly, much to the frustration of Soma and the others. Soma himself was searching the forest along with the combined Witch, Bat, and Ghost, looking not only for the gems, but also for any sign of the ferret that might be able to give them some answers. Yoko and Hammer would occasionally search themselves, but they didn't have any more luck.

Finally, on Friday, Yuriko and Akinobu called Soma with good news.

"We found her!" Akinobu said. "Hurry back to the safe house and we'll tell you more."

Once everyone was gathered, Yuriko placed a small pile of printouts in the center of the table with a picture of the brown-haired girl on top.

"Takamachi Nanoha," she said. "Age nine, currently attends Seishou Elementary School." She glanced at her phone. "I also sent the name back to headquarters, and they were able to get some information on the rest of the family."

Akinobu continued. "It turns out that Special Investigations tried to hire Mr. Shiro Takamachi several years ago due to his… special skill set. He turned us down, and a few years later he received grievous injuries while on a job and was forced to retire. His son, Kyouya Takamachi, seems to be following in his footsteps, however, as he and several associates were involved in an… incident."

Soma raised his eyebrow at the description on the paper he was reading. "Ninjas?"

"Yes, some of the few real ones left," Yuriko said. "They also have had contact with the Tsukimura clan, forming a close friendship. That's part of the reason we're keeping an eye on them." Yoko gasped.

"Those were the light vampires I talked to!" she said. Soma nodded slowly, still reading the file.

"It seems we don't know much about the youngest, thought," he mused.

"I'm afraid not, we assumed that she wouldn't become a factor for a few more years at least." Akinobu said. "And no member of the Takamachi family has shown anything even remotely close to the power needed shut down the gem that caused those trees to grow." He glanced at his paper. "No, something's changed, something we didn't anticipate."

"Well," Hammer said, leaning back. "Are we going to go talk to these… ninjas?"

"Yes," Soma said. "We need to get some answers."

"Just out of curiosity, is there any news on the other girl?" Yoko asked.

Yuriko shook her head. "No, she still hasn't shown up on any city records. No name, not photos, nothing."

"Let's focus on the Takamachi lead for now," Soma said. "We'll worry about the other one later. Who knows, maybe Ms. Nanoha will have something to say about that."

Yuriko agreed to stay behind and go over the information with a fine-toothed comb, just in case there was any more information to be found. The rest of the team piled into the car and made their way to the Takamachi residence.

Once they arrived, Soma carefully led the way up the path, reaching out with his magic for any sense of the gems, the ferret's magic, or Nanoha's own. There was nothing. He knocked on the door as soon as he arrived. After a minute, he knocked again, his brow furrowed.

'I don't think they're here,' Witch said, as she had arrived a few minutes before alongside Bat and Ghost. 'There haven't been any signs of movement.'

"They're not home," a voice called, confirming the soul's theory. Turning, Soma saw a middle aged man standing on the sidewalk, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Do you know where they are?" Soma asked, making his way back.

"You friends of theirs?" the man challenged. "Because I don't recognize any of you."

Soma pulled out his badge. "We're with the Special Investigations division," he said. "It's very important that we talk to…"

"You know, I worked with Shiro, back before he was injured," the man interrupted. "I distinctly remember him telling you lot that he wasn't interested. And if he wasn't then, he certainly isn't now."

"We're not recruiting," Soma said. "We're here about the incident that happened last week, and we thing certain members of the Takamachi family have information we need."

"You're barking up the wrong tree," Mr. Takamachi's friend said. "I can assure you that not a single one of them would have done something like that, even if they could."

"I am well aware of that," Soma said soothingly. "And I'm not accusing anyone of anything. I just need some information."

"Surely it can wait for a while, they'll be back tomorrow."

Acting on a whisper from Persephone, Soma continued. "If we do not get this information, people could get seriously hurt, even killed, and the longer we wait, the more likely something bad could happen."

The man studied Soma intently. "You seem like an honest kid," he said finally. "They went up with some friends to the Uminari Onsen, they left this morning." His eyes narrowed. "You can expect them to know you're coming, though."

"Of course," Soma said, nodding. The man nodded back before making his way to a nearby house.

"I know the place," Akinobu said. "It'll take us several hours to get there, and it will probably be dark by the time we arrive."

"That's alright," Soma said. "We have a direction now, we just need to get there and get some questions answered." With that, they drove off, left town, and headed into the mountains where the resort was located. As Akinobu had predicted, night started to fall about the time they were halfway to their destination, causing the older agent to slow.

The trip mostly passed in silence, with everyone preparing themselves. The man who they had met was clearly cautions, so they couldn't be certain of the reception they would receive.

As time ticked by, Soma started feeling a headache build, clouding his mind. Gritting his teeth, he rubbed his head, wondering what was happening. Every minute that passed seemed to make the ache worse.

'Something's wrong,' Persephone said. 'I don't know what, but something's wrong…' Soma realized that it wasn't just Persephone, just about every soul was shifting nervously. He was about to reach out and try to determine the cause of their discomfort before he was interrupted.

'_IIIIIIIII...'_ a voice croaked at the back of Soma's mind, causing him to jump. He knew every soul in his mind, including this one, but…

A sudden flash of pain caused Soma to cry out.

"What is it?" Yoko asked, glancing worriedly at him. He tried to answer, only for another jolt to pass through him. It was almost as if something was trying to tear itself from him. No soul had ever tried to do that before.

Akinobu pulled over, glancing over his shoulder at Soma. "What's going on?" he asked. After a moment of fumbling with the door handle, Soma stumbled out of the car, in too much pain to answer.

'_Llleeeeettt… mmmeeeeee… oooouuuuuttttt_…' the soul groaned. Soma felt as if a hot brand had just been pressed against his chest, causing him to let out another hiss of pain.

Finally, a blue ball shoved its way out of Soma, hovering for a moment before flashing off into the distance. Acting on pure instinct, Soma leapt into the air after it, summoning Black Panther to fly after the rebelling soul. If what he thought was happening was actually happening, he needed to head the problem off right away.

"SOMA!" Yoko cried. When it was clear he wouldn't turn around, the witch turned to the others. "Continue on, I'm going after him." Not waiting for a response, she summoned her broom and soared off after the rapidly diminishing speck of light and the white-clad shape that followed it.

* * *

Nanoha's eyes jerked open, the tingle of a Jewel Seed drawing her from her sleep.

'Here? Now?' Yuuno asked, rising onto his hind legs and looking around worriedly. 'We were supposed to be taking a _break_!'

'We don't have a choice, Yuuno,' Nanoha said telepathically, rolling out of her bed and grabbing her cloths, careful not to make too much noise and wake Susuka or Arisa. 'We have to go now, before that woman or the blonde girl get to the Jewel Seed.'

As she got dressed, Yunno ran over to the door and peeked out. 'Nanoha, you're dad's still up. He… seems to be waiting for something.'

'Really?' Nanoha asked. True, her father had seemed distracted much of the day, but she thought he would have been able to get to bed. A part of her wanted to go to him and try to figure out what was wrong, but she shook her head: she still a job to do. 'I guess we'll have to go out the window.'

'Yeah,' Yunno said, running back over to his friend. 'Quiet, now, we can't afford to be held up.' A quick bit of magic later, Nanoha was sprinting as fast as her short legs could take her along the path that lead to a nearby river.

Suddenly, the sound of thunder split the sky, and a moment later a flash of blue light shone through the trees in front of them.

'No…' Yuuno thought, his green eyes wide. 'That other girl must be here!'

'Good,' Nanoha said as she continued forward. 'Now we have a chance to talk to her and get this all sorted out.' Yunno was silent, but Nanoha could tell he was worried about her.

A few moments later, Nanoha burst out of the tree line near a bridge. As expected, the blonde girl was already there, along with that large woman from the resort. As the pair turned to look at her, Nanoha was surprised to see a pair of furry ears sticking from the older woman's head, where human ears should have been.

'So that's why she kept her head covered,' she though, but was interrupted by the dog woman's mocking laughter.

"My oh my. My, my, my," she chortled. "Didn't I tell you earlier that you should be a good little kid?"

Yuuno spoke up, a hint of anger in his voice. "That Jewel Seed! What are you going to do with it! It's dangerous!"

The woman looked away, closing her eyes with a smirk. "Who knows," she said arrogantly. "I don't see any reason to tell you!"

'Why are these two together?' Nanoha wondered. The blonde mage hadn't said a word throughout the entire encounter, simply watching calmly. Even when it had been only her, she had seemed… so sad. This other woman, however, was just a jerk! "…and I was being pretty nice when we spoke before, wasn't I?" the dog woman continued. If that was her being nice, Nanoha didn't particularly want to see her being mean.

The woman bared her teeth in a feral smile, and a burst of magic overwhelmed the area. Before Nanoha's eyes, the woman's orange hair extended, covering the rest of her body even as its shape warped. After a few tense seconds, a massive wolf, with fangs that jutted out of its mouth and claws that scratched the wood of the bridge.

'As I thought,' Yuuno said grimly. 'That woman is a familiar.'

"Familiar?" Nanoha asked. The wolf's ears twitched, and she let out a bark of laughter.

"That's right!" she called. "I'm a magical beast created by her." Nanoha's eyes widened. How was that even possible! How could someone do that… just create life like it was nothing? "In return for being allowed to live through her magical power, I give all my life and strength to protect her!"

"Go ahead, I'll be right behind you," the black clad mage whispered, though her voice still drifted on the wind. "Just don't be too reckless."

"Don't worry! I've…"

Suddenly, the wolf raised herself from her battle crouch, her eyes flicking around the area in confusion. On Nanoha's shoulder, Yuuno did the same.

"What is it, Yuuno?" Nanoha asked, shivering slightly as a cold wind blew through the clearing.

"There's something here, something… unnatural," Yuuno breathed, his voice shaking. "Can't you sense it?"

Nanoha looked around, trying to pinpoint whatever had spooked Yunno and that familiar. True, the temperature of the clearing seemed to be dropping rapidly… Nanoha's eyes widened, it was close to summer, _it shouldn't be this cold_!

"Show yourself!" the wolf shouted, rearing for a moment in anger.

Suddenly, a dry chuckle filled the area, seeming to come from every shadow. It was a chuckle that held no warmth, it sounded like a frozen wind blowing through brown, dead leaves. It was a chuckle that chilled Nanoha to her very soul.

"It seems that even false animals can sense my presence," a voice said, dripping the same darkness as the laugh. "To watch the fearless cower in terror at the mere thought of me… it fills my empty existence, at least a little."

"What are you?" the blonde girl called, raising her Device into a two handed grip as she moved to stand beside her familiar.

"Yeah! Get out here and talk to our faces, you coward!" the wolf continued, causing the presence to laugh again.

"If that is your desire, then who am I to deny it."

Tendrils of darkness started flowing from the trees, gathering over the river. Nanoha tightened her grip on Raising Heart, ready to try and defend herself, no matter how futile it might be.

'Wait, where did that come from?' she thought, blinking. 'I'm not that pessimistic,'

Meanwhile, the darkness had finished gathering, and a moment later, it shaped itself into what looked like a flapping cloak, a cloak that at first seemed to have no wearer. It was pitch black, and seemed to be made from a dark cotton. Various rips and tears marred the hem of the cloak, giving the whole thing a battered appearance that only seemed to enhance it. The hood was thrown up, covering anything that might have lay under it, and the sleeves were held together.

Nanoha recoiled at the sight, as something deep within her screamed at her to run, to fly, to get away from this… thing.

"Here I am," the voice said.

"Yeah, but you haven't answered my master's question!" the wolf shouted, glaring daggers at the cloak. "What are you?"

"I am many things, animal," the presence said, its hood turning slightly to take in the two pairs on the bridge. "But if you want to know specifically…" It turned back to Nanoha, and the nameless dread in her heart doubled, "…Perhaps Takamachi Nanoha could shed some light on the issue."

Everyone turned to look at Nanoha, who was shaking. She tried to speak, to tell the cloak that she had no idea what it was, but something stopped her.

"Perhaps a little hint is in order," the shape breathed. "I am the final darkness, to which all mortals must go one day. I am the hunter that will never be denied. No matter how fast or how far you run, I will catch you one day." Nanoha got the sense that the figure would be smirking if it had a face. "Now, throw out your best guess, Takamachi Nanoha."

"S…Shin… Shinigami," Nanoha stuttered, trying to break eye contact with eyes that weren't there.

"That is one name for me," the figure said, finally taking its gaze of Nanoha to look around at the others. "I have also been called the Grim Reaper, the Angel of Dark and Light, the Champion of the Night, Cutter of the Final String, and many other such titles by those who fear me." It slowly raised it's hands, revealing long, boney fingers as it pulled back its hood, revealing a bleached, grinning human skull.

"Myself. I prefer to simply be called Death."

One of the two main villains makes his debut. Hope you read, like, and review or I'll send Death over to your house.


	3. The Alliance of Light

AN: I own nothing and I'm not making any money off this or any other story.

Review Response:

Nightraze: I was wondering if anyone would find Death intimidating, or just melodramatic. I'd be fine with either, I don't like him much. The jerk killed me a dozen times in the original NES game before I figured out the holy water trick. As for Nanoha and Fate, in one of my other stories people were complaining that I canon rehashed too much, so this time I'm leaving the magical girls out until something changes, which it will in this chapter.

MangamanZX: I'm going with the theory DezoPenguin laid out in Blood & Spirit (an awesome story, you should read it if you like Nanoha): Triangle Hearts 3 things happened unless they are directly contradicted by Nanoha canon. One of those is the Tsukimuras being vampires. (Arisa isn't a ghost… yet, [shifty eyes])

edboy4926: Thanks, I'm glad you like the story. Tell your friends.

Chapter 3: The Alliance of Light

Shiro Takamachi sighed quietly as he took another sip of coffee, glancing out the window. As he turned his gaze back to the dark liquid, he wryly wondered when was the last time he had drank anything with caffeine in it this late at night.

'Not since before my last job,' he thought. After that, he thought he wouldn't need to stay up late like this again, but here he was, and for a reason he had never imagined.

What could the Special Investigations Division possibly want with him now? They must have known he was injured, so it wouldn't make sense for them to try and recruit him again. Theoretically, they could be after Kyouya, but somehow he doubted it.

He also doubted the reason they had given Yori. The kind of power it would take to do that to trees… it was beyond anything Shiro would have felt comfortable dealing with, even at his prime, and he knew that his son, daughter, and probably future daughter-in-law didn't have the power to do anything either. No, Arikado had some other game, and Shiro planned to sniff it out before he let them anywhere near his family.

One of the doors behind Shiro whispered open, and soft footsteps made their way to him. He didn't have to turn around to know that it was his wife Momoko.

"They still haven't arrived, huh?" she whispered, gently rubbing his shoulders. Shiro smiled as some of the tension left him.

"Not yet, no," he said. He had told Momoko about Yori's call the minute it came in, though he hadn't mentioned it to the rest of the family.

"They could have changed their minds, dear," Momoko said. "Decided to wait until tomorrow." Shiro shrugged, taking another sip of coffee.

"Perhaps, but I doubt it," he said. "It whatever they're after is important enough to bother convincing Yori to tell them where we are, they're not just going to wait. Likely the dark just slowed them down."

Momoko knelt down on the cushion next to her husband, still rubbing his shoulder. "Do you think they're here for Kyouya?" she asked.

"If they are, then it's his choice, I'm afraid," Shiro said. "But I wouldn't worry; I doubt he'd want to leave Shinobu." Shiro knew that, ever since his almost fatal injury, Momoko had been worried that something similar would happen to her children.

The pair sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Momoko quietly crawled over to the other rooms, gently peaking into the elder children first. Shiro was in the middle of draining the last of the coffee when Momoko gasped. It was a quiet thing, but to his trained ears, she might as well have screamed. Coughing, he spun to see his wife peering into the younger children's room, her hand covering her mouth.

"What is it?" he asked, moving swiftly to kneel next to her, placing a hand on her shaking shoulder. Momoko's gaze turned to him, looking on the verge of tears.

"Nanoha… Nanoha's gone!" she moaned.

Shiro looked into the room, his eyes desperately seeking his youngest daughter in the dark shadows of the room. Her two friends were clearly visible, both asleep, but Nanoha was nowhere in sight. Worse, her pajamas were piled on her sleeping mat and her day cloths were gone.

"How…" he muttered. "I was out here this whole time, there's no way she slipped by me without my noticing." Then, he noticed the window was ajar. Still, he should have heard something… he was better than this…

"Where could she have gone?" Momoko whispered.

"And why?" Shiro said.

Suddenly, his head jerked up, listening to the slight crunch of tires over gravel. Outside, a pair of dim lights drove up the driveway a short distance away.

"Not now…" he muttered.

* * *

Yuuno blinked at the being's bold declaration. Was it really claiming to be the avatar of death? Ridiculous; death was simply a fact of life, not some deity.

But… whatever it was, this figure was powerful, more powerful than any person or creature Yuuno had ever seen before. Only the Jewel Seeds themselves could match its power. Even if this thing wasn't Death, it was powerful and dangerous.

It seemed the familiar thought much the same, as she let out a bark of laughter. "You're really full of yourself, aren't you?" she called, forming several balls of orange energy around herself.

The skull turned to look at the she wolf, and Yuuno noted just how creepy the empty eyeholes were.

"You doubt me, creature?" it asked, its voice dangerously quiet. "You, whose beast soul was bound and warped by a human? I would have thought you would recognize my role." After a moment, it continued. "Though, you are an outsider, so perhaps it is not so surprising. No matter, you will learn soon."

"Shut your mouth!" the familiar cried, launching the bolts she had prepared.

Just before the orange light hit the skeleton, it flickered out of sight, only to reappear after the magic had plowed its way into the ground on the other side.

"It is quite impolite to interrupt someone when they are monologing, you know," the figure said. "Don't do it again."

With that, the skeleton turned to look at Yuuno, causing an involuntary shudder to pass through him, as if some cold hand had run itself along his spine. "And what are you, little being? You are no beast; your soul is that of a man. Why do you hide your true form?" it breathed.

Yuuno's eyes widened. How did it _know?_! It talked as if it could see his soul… Suddenly, he wasn't so certain that this being wasn't what it said it was.

"No matter, you are not particularly interesting," it said dismissively. "Should you choose to wear your real body, you would not warrant a second glance." It's gaze then turned to the blonde girl, who didn't move. "But you… You interest me. You're soul… So strong, yet so fragile. Unshakable, yet a single word could shatter you completely." The robed skeleton moved forward, studying the girl. "Who are you, outsider?"

"I… I am Fate," the girl said. "Fate Testarossa."

"Fate…" Death said, drifting even closer. "An interesting name."

"Get away from her!" the familiar said, lunging towards the skeleton, which drifted back.

"Creature," it growled. "You begin to _annoy_ me." It shook its head. "But, perhaps it is time for me to get to business." Flashing, Death vanished, only to reappear on the other side of the bridge, causing everyone to jerk as they turned around.

"What do you want?" Nanoha asked, trying to stop her voice from shaking. The dark figure chuckled quietly.

"I am here on a simple mission, one that I think you all know well," it said. "From my shadowy realm where I waited for the return of my master, I spied many objects falling from the beyond. At first, I ignored these things, but then I realized their power, and their potential. I have come for these objects, objects that both of you have." Yuuno's eyes widened. Was this the third party that had killed the mouse? Was it the one that had sent the bat? If it was, then that meant that things had just become much more complicated.

Death had continued speaking while Yuuno was thinking. "I grant each of you a simple choice. Give me what I desire…" As he said this, Death snapped his fingers even though he had no flesh. As soon as he did so, a ball of dark energy appeared above his hand, which started expanding. When it was done, a long, black pole hovered, a pole that was tipped with a screaming skull. As it drifted down into its master's hand, a sickening _shing_ echoed throughout the clearing, and a long, curved blade shot out of the mounted skull's mouth, forming a deadly looking scythe. "…or you will die." Death looked slowly between the two mages and their partners. "What say you?"

"Bardiche," Fate said simply, holding out her Device.

"_**Scythe Form, Set up**_." The axe-head opened ninety degrees, and a moment later a blade of yellow light flashed out, leaving Fate holding a scythe of her own.

"I will not surrender to you," Fate said quietly. "I have my own reasons for seeking the Jewel Seeds, and I will not fail. It doesn't matter to me what you are, get in my way and I will defeat you."

"And she won't be alone!" her familiar shouted, forming more balls of energy. "You called yourself the Grim Reaper? Well let's see how you like reaping _yourself_!"

Death simply stared at the pair for a moment before laughing his horrible laugh. "Such arrogance! You wield no holy powers; nothing designed to stand against me! I will enjoy devouring your souls!" The skull turned to Nanoha, shifting its scythe. "And you, Takamachi Nanoha? Surely you are not so foolish as to think you can defeat me. You will grant me what I desire, will you not?"

Everyone turned their eyes to Nanoha, who simply stood for a long moment. Yuuno was about to speak when Nanoha raised her hand, gently running it through his fur to silence him.

"I will not," she called. "Yes, I am afraid of you, and I know your reputation. If half the stories they tell about you are true, then none of us could defeat you alone. But I'm not going to let my fear compromise who I am. I will be brave, and I will get the Jewel Seeds for my friend Yuuno. Raising Heart, are you ready?"

"_**Yes, my Master**_!" Raising Heart said triumphantly.

Somehow, despite its skull having no flesh or hair, Death gave the impression of narrowed eyes. "Truly," it said, its voice laced with malice and even a touch of anger, "mortals are the most incomprehensibly foolish creatures! I give you the chance to leave this place with your miserable life, and you insist on facing me. You know that you cannot stop me, but you would fight. Fine then, your death is your own doing!" Death twirled its scythe before pointing it at Nanoha. "I wonder; will you break when I drain the blood of your friend from his false body? Will you cry when I claim your soul? I am Death, right hand of the Lord of Darkness and Steward of Castlevania! HAVE AT YOU!" A dozen hand sickles formed around him at his final words.

"Oh just Shut. UP!" Fate's familiar shouted, launching her attack. "You talk too much!" Death spun its scythe, cutting each bolt neatly out of the air as its sickles launched themselves at both pairs.

"I have told you already, creature. Be. Silent."

"My name if Arf, not creature!" Arf shouted as she launched another volley. Several shattered sickles, but most were directed at Death, who dodged. "Now get over here and fight, you undead creep!"

Death did not answer with words, instead creating more sickles before vanishing. He reappeared a half second later right behind Fate, raising his scythe for a killing blow.

"**Blitz Action**," her device intoned, and Fate flickered out of sight just as the scythe fell, only to reappear behind Death and launch an attack of her own, which the skeleton barely blocked.

"Can't use Divine Buster…" Nanoha muttered to herself as she smacked a sickle out of the air with her Device. "I might hit Fate…"

"**Master,** **Divine Shooter**!" Raising Heart said, causing Nanoha's eyes to widen.

"That'll work!" she cheered. "Divine Shooter!"

Fate, meanwhile, was still dueling with Death, their scythe's flashing. Meanwhile, Arf was forced to focus her attention on keeping the flying sickles away from her master. Yuuno did the same for Nanoha, allowing her to form six balls of pink light around herself.

"Shoot!" Nanoha called, pointing Raising Heart at the battle as she rose into the air, her Flier Fins appeared on the back of her boots. All six of the magical bullets shot forward, though two of them intercepted sickles, destroying themselves but annihilating the deadly weapons. The remaining four smashed into Death just as he seemed to be gaining the upper hand against Fate.

As the robed skeleton reeled, Fate darted back, cutting one sickle out of the air before raising her Device over her head "Bardiche! Arc Saber!"

"**Arc Saber**," her device said as she swung it down, launching the magic that formed the blade of her scythe. Death wasn't able to evade the energy, which exploded.

"How do you like that!?" Arf crowed, shifting back to her human form to stick her tongue out at the cloud of smoke where Death had been.

A cold chuckle filled the clearing. "Perhaps you are not as weak as your age would suggest," Death's voice seemed to once more come from everywhere, and as the smoke cleared Yuuno saw that it had vanished again. "But enough games."

Nanoha squeaked as Death appeared above her, along with six shadow copies of himself in a circle. The seven fell as one, their scythes forming an inescapable web around Nanoha. "**Round Shield,**" Raising Heart said, forming a circle of pink light above her head. For a half second, Yuuno thought that she would be able to block the blade.

His hopes were dashed as the cruel scythe slid through the Round Shield, only stopping when the shaft hit the light. Nanoha's eyes went wide; the tip of the blade was only a half-inch from her face.

Death flickered out of sight again as its clones disappeared, but left its weapon behind in Nanoha's shield. Before Yuuno could think about what its plan might be, it reappeared next to Nanoha, dealing her a heavy blow. Nanoha cried out as she spiraled out of control, narrowly missing the falling scythe. Death calmly grabbed it and raised it to bisect the young mage.

"Not on my watch!" Yuuno snarled, hovering in mid air between them. "**IRON SHELL!**" As Death's scythe fell, a green circle appeared in front of it. They met with an unholy shriek, but Yuuno's defenses did not fail, and the scythe skimmed off.

Nanoha, meanwhile, righted herself just in time to duck under a flash of orange light. "Hey!" she shouted, dodging another sickle. "We're on the same team!"

"When did we ever decide that?" Arf said. "It seems…"

"Arf, not now," Fate said quietly, barely audible even to Yuuno's ears. "We'll deal with her later, but for now, we will work against the greater threat." Arf snorted, but accepted her master's orders as she directed her next volley at Death.

Yuuno kept his attention on the scythe, blocking it every time it tried to hit him or Nanoha. His friend was splitting her attention between shooting down the sickles that were still homing in on them and launching Divine Shooter bolts at Death himself, trying to wear down his defenses. After a while, Death reappeared at the edge of the clearing, its cloak smoking slightly from multiple hits. Yuuno wondered wearily just how much this thing could take, any mage he knew would have been downed long before this.

"Had enough!" Arf called.

This time, Death didn't respond to the familiar's barb. Instead, it simply let go of its scythe, which vanished in a cloud of darkness before raising its hand, gathering purple energy in its palms.

'What is it planning?' Yuuno thought. Neither Nanoha, Arf nor, Fate seemed interested in finding out, launching their respective attacks at the stationary target.

Unfortunately, this seemed to be exactly what Death wanted them to do.

** "MAY THE CHAINS OF MORTALITY BIND YOU!" **

Yuuno, having kept his energy in reserve, was able to block the steely chains that appeared from pools or darkness around him. Fate was also able to slip out using her extreme speed. Nanoha and Arf, however, were both held fast by the bonds.

Death grinned evilly as it vanished again, reappearing next to Arf. "For your insolence, creature, you will be the first to die," it said as it raised a hand, catching one of the hand sickles that appeared.

"Get away from her!" Fate screamed, dashing forward to slash at the skeleton's back.

Death simply glided aside "So predictable," it said as it reached out and grabbed the shaft of Fate's Device. "You would have done better to sacrifice her." With that, it swung Fate around and threw her into a nearby tree. Yuuno, busy trying to break the chains that held Nanoha, winced as he heard the tree crack: if Fate hadn't been wearing a Barrier Jacket, she would have been killed instantly by that blow.

"Fate!" Nanoha screamed, struggling against the bind. "Yuuno, help her!"

"I can't," Yuuno said. "It's all I can do to try and free you while stopping these sickles!"

Death, meanwhile, had grabbed Fate and pulled her back over to Arf. "I have a better idea," it said maliciously, still holding a sickle. "Perhaps the best punishment for you is not death, but to watch your precious master die before your eyes."

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Arf screamed, trying to wrench her arms out of the shackles that held her. Death simply laughed.

"I shall take that as a yes. Don't worry, you'll join her in my realm soon enough." With that, it raised the sickle.

Suddenly, a ball of blue light soared from the trees and slammed into Death, causing him to jerk and drop Fate. It stared at a hand, seeming confused.

"What is this… This fragment of my power… returns to me… but that can only mean…"

Death tensed as a white blur came out of the same set of trees as the blue ball and a feral cry echoed through the area. Death vanished just as the blur reached him, a dark blade slicing through the area where the skeleton had been. The skeleton reappeared across the river, snapping its fingers. The chains binding Nanoha and Arf vanished, and the scythe reappeared in Death's hand.

Yuuno, however, was still staring at the white figure. He looked like a young to middle-aged human, his hair a shocking white despite his young, unlined face. He carried a black blade that seethed with unnatural crimson fire, and wore a furious expression on his face.

"Young Master," Death called, bowing slightly. "It has been quite a while since we last spoke. How are you?"

"Not long enough, Death! And I'm not your master!" the man shouted back. "Now, are you going to be a good little dark creature and go back to Hell where you belong, or do I have to rip that body limb from limb!" As he said this, a ball of light rose from his back before shifting into an ugly, devil-like creature with wings for arms. This creature bared its massive fangs in a challenging roar as it floated behind its summoner.

"Gaibon…" Death breathed. "You would turn one of my servants against me, young Master. You wound me."

"I will do what I must to protect the innocent people of this world from your darkness, Death!" the white-clad mage called, twirling his sword. "Now, come and fight me if you have the courage!"

Death chuckled quietly. "I'm afraid, young Master, that I must decline this contest. We both know how it will end, especially since you have aid. Weak as they are, they will prove to be too great of a distraction for me to fight at my fullest. And if I am defeated here, by the time I am able to return to this plain of existence, it will be too late to complete my mission." Death's scythe vanished again and it raised a hand, fingers formed for a snap. "No, young Master, for now I must take my leave, but do not worry. Before long, I shall return you to your true glory." With that, it snapped its fingers and vanished. Yuuno breathed a sigh of relief as the dark, oppressive aura of the clearing lifted, indicating that Death had indeed fled.

"Dammit!" the man called, looking around. "Come back and fight, Death!"

The creature called Gaibon, meanwhile, had flown over to Yuuno and Nanoha and was studying them intently. There was something very familiar about the way that it acted… almost like a certain flying rodent that Yuuno had met earlier in the week.

"Ummm… hello?" Nanoha said, meeting the creature's gaze.

"Gaibon, stop it," the man called, dashing through the air to stand next to the creature. "You've done your bit." The demon gave its master a slightly pitiful look before vanishing back into a ball of blue light like the one that had hit Death and sinking back into the man's chest.

Once that was done, he turned his attention to the pair. "You… you're Takamachi Nanoha, yes?" he said, causing both Nanoha and Yuuno to jerk.

"I… yes, but how do you know…" Nanoha stuttered.

"My name is Cruz Soma," the man said. "I work for the Special Investigations division of the Japanese government, and I'm here on a case."

Before he could continue, another voice drifted into the clearing. "Soma! Wait for me!" a woman shouted as she flew into the clearing on a broom. She spotted the group and made her way over. "What happened?"

"Death was here," Mr. Cruz said grimly. "He was about to kill…" suddenly, he spun around. "Where did they go?" he muttered before turning back to Nanoha. "Where did your friend go?" Yuuno's eyes widened, in the excitement of Mr. Cruz's arrival and Death retreating, he hadn't spared a glance for Fate or Arf.

Nanoha, it seemed, had. "They flew off, as soon as you arrived," she said nervously. "Fate was hurt… I think Arf wanted to get her away before any more fighting took place."

"Where did they go?" Mr. Cruz asked. Nanoha shook her head.

"I… don't know. We aren't exactly friends, though I really would prefer if we were." Nanoha lowered her eyes.

"Well," Mr. Cruz muttered. "That complicates matters." His eyes hardened again as he continued. "Might I ask what you're doing all the way out here, we're quite a ways away from the resort."

"Well…" Nanoha said, glancing at Yuuno. 'How much should I tell him?' she asked telepathically.

'Well, he did save our lives,' Yuuno said. 'Maybe he can help. He certainly scared Death off quickly enough.'

'That's true…' Nanoha thought to Yuuno. "Well, Yuuno and I were looking for something."

"One of the gems?" the blonde woman asked.

"You already know about those?" Yuuno asked, unable to stop himself.

"Yes, Mr. Yuuno," Mr. Cruz said, turning his gaze to the ferret. "And they're what we're searching for, after that disaster they caused in Uminari City."

Nanoha flinched at the reminder. "I… should have been able to prevent that," she said. "I saw the Jewel Seed, but I didn't act. I'm sorry."

The woman reached out and put a hand on Nanoha's shoulder. "But weren't you the one who stopped it?" she asked. "So you did some good."

Yuuno nodded. "She's right, Nanoha. You would have had to forcibly take the Jewel Seed from the boy, which probably would have caused all sorts of problems."

Meanwhile, Mr. Cruz had pulled out a cell phone and glanced at it. "We should probably continue this back at the resort," he said. "No sense in sticking around out here."

"Yeah," Nanoha said. "Thanks for your help, Mr. Cruz."

"Please, just call me Soma," the man groaned. "Mr. Cruz makes me sound old."

"Aw, it's not that bad, Soma," the blonde woman said, reaching out and ruffling Soma's hair, causing the man to flush slightly.

"Stop it, Yoko," he muttered before turning in mid air and jumping off, dashing forward again.

"Well, let's go," Yoko said, nodding to Nanoha and Yuuno. "After you two."

"Okay," Nanoha said, gliding back towards the resort with Yuuno on her shoulder.

'What happens now?' she asked telepathically, glancing at Yoko as she flew nearby.

'I don't know, Nanoha,' Yuuno said. 'I just don't know.' These new people were completely outside his experience, so he wasn't sure what was going to happen now.

And what had Death meant, when he was talking to Soma? Why did he call him Master? Soma seemed to hate the skeletal figure, but Death seemed… almost to pity Soma, as if he was a child who had lost his way. What was going on?

The trip back passed in silence, with Soma tracing circles around the group, making sure that nothing happened. They arrived just after a car pulled into the lot of the resort.

"Perfect timing," Soma said as he dropped back to the ground, somehow absorbing the impact of a fifty-foot fall like a minor hop. The others landed more slowly and followed Soma as he made his way to the car.

"Soma!" a bald man wearing a green jacket called as he exited the vehicle. "What happened? How are you?"

"I'm alright, Hammer," Soma said. "However, things have become a fair bit more complicated."

"What do you mean?" another man asked, this one wearing a suit, asked. Before Soma could answer, the door to the area Nanoha's family and friends had been staying at opened, revealing Nanoha's father and mother, both of who quickly made their way over.

"Look, I…" Mr. Takamachi started, only to jerk when his wife saw their daughter and cried out.

"Nanoha? What are you doing?" she asked, rushing over and pulling Nanoha into a hug before pulling back and shaking her a bit. "What were you thinking, just wandering off into the night like that? And what are you wearing?"

"Well… it's a long story…" Nanoha said, glancing back at Soma and the others. Yuuno felt a pang of sympathy for her; this seemed to be like the time when he was six and had snuck into the clan's vault to look at the relics that were being studied at the time. His caretakers had not been happy when they found him there unsupervised.

"Mr. Takamachi, I presume," Soma said, stepping forward. "As I'm sure you know, I'm from the Special Investigations division. We came here to speak to your daughter about a very important matter, one that relates to your own question. If we could step inside, I believe all will be answered."

For a long moment, Yuuno thought that Mr. Takamachi was going to tell Soma and the others to leave him alone with his daughter, but he nodded sharply. Mrs. Takamachi also acquiesced, though she refused to let go of her daughter's hand all the way back to the room.

Soon, everyone was gathered around a table, listening to Nanoha and Yuuno retell the events of the past few weeks: how Yuuno had called out to her in a time of need, how she had taken the roll of finding and sealing the Jewel Seeds, and what had happened tonight.

"…So," Nanoha said when they had finished. "That's everything. I'm really sorry I didn't tell you, but I was afraid you'd make me stop."

"And that sounds like a very good idea!" Mr. Takamachi said. "Nanoha, this isn't a game. You could have been hurt… or worse… and your mother and I would never have know what happened to you!"

"It wasn't that bad before!" Nanoha said, her blue eyes shining with determination. "Until tonight, I've never felt like my life was in danger. Besides, Yuuno's with me, and he knows what he's doing!" Yuuno suppressed a sigh; if he'd really know what he was doing then he would never have let her risk herself like she had.

"Forgive me if I don't find the idea of a _talking ferret_ knowing what he's doing to be of particular comfort," Mr. Takamachi said, turning his eyes to Yuuno.

"I am terribly sorry about all this," Yuuno said, bowing his head.

A long, tense silence passed before Soma spoke up. "You still have these Jewel Seeds with you, yes," he said.

"Yes," Nanoha said, lifting Raising Heart, which had returned to its standby mode, and summoning the six Lost Logia. Yoko looked interested.

"How did you get them to be so… docile? The one's we have had to be sealed in weapons to be even remotely safe."

Yuuno answered this "Where I come from, things like these are… if not very common, then common enough to warrant technology designed to combat them." He wasn't sure how much he was allowed to say about the Bureau.

Soma looked interested. "Do you think we could have a look at that?" he said, nodding to Raising Heart.

"**No**." Everyone was surprised when Raising Heart spoke up, her mechanical voice carrying a hint of warning.

"I was unaware that staves spoke," Soma said, keeping his eyes on the red orb.

"Well, she's an Intelligent Device, so it would be more accurate to call her and AI than a staff," Nanoha said, still keeping a firm grip on Raising Heart.

"All of this is interesting," Mrs. Takamachi said, "but none of it deals with what happens next." This led to a tense silence.

"Yuuno, yes," Soma said finally, looking at the ferret. "Since you seem to know the most about this series of events, I will ask you to aid the Special Investigations Division in dealing with these Jewel Seeds. Considering the fact that Death wants them, it is imperative that we get them out of his bony grasp before he does something terrible."

"So… that thing actually was Death?" Yuuno asked, shivering slightly.

"Yes, he is," Soma answered. "And, as I'm sure you've noticed, he's as dangerous as that title implies. He can never be destroyed, only banished for a time." Soma studied Nanoha and Yuuno. "I must say, that even with the assistance of the other two, holding out against him for any length of time is an impressive feat. Ninety nine percent of the world's population would have been slain within the first seconds of the fight. But enough about him, will you help us, Yuuno?"

"I…" Yuuno said, glancing at Nanoha.

"I want to help too," Nanoha said.

"Absolutely not," Mr. Takamachi said immediately. "It's far too dangerous for you. Even at my best I wouldn't have taken a case like this."

"But Papa, it's not like I'd be alone," Nanoha said pleadingly. "Soma, Yuuno, and the others will be there too. Besides, I've already started, and wasn't it you and Mama that told me to not leave things half-finished?"

"That's completely different!" Mr. Takamachi said. "Nanoha, you're nine years old. I know this is hard to hear, but you're just too young. What would your mother and I do if something happened to you?"

"I know, but… how am I supposed to go back, pretend none of this ever happened?" Nanoha asked. "When I touched Raising Heart, when I first used magic, I felt like I belonged. I felt like I was doing something worthwhile, like I was making a difference." Yuuno's heart broke as he saw Nanoha clutching Raising Heart like a lifeline. "I can't just drop this. I can't just hand over Raising Heart like… like a trinket and go back to life the way it was before! I just can't."

"Nanoha, sweetie," Mrs. Takamachi said, wrapping her daughter in a hug. "You have your whole life ahead of you, dear. You'll find that feeling again, you don't have to risk your life to do something worthwhile." She smiled sadly. "Besides, there's something else driving you, something you're not saying."

Nanoha blinked before looking down. "I… I want to get through to Fate. I can't just abandon her." Everyone blinked.

"Nanoha, didn't you say that she attacked you?" Mr. Takamachi said.

"I know, but she looked so sad!" Nanoha said. "Even if I could give everything else up; the magic, the feeling of doing good in the world, I couldn't abandon Fate, not when she needs someone."

A long moment passed before Soma rose to his feet. "I need to talk to my superiors, privately," he said, stepping towards the door.

* * *

Soma leaned back against the wall of the building as he listened to Arikado's phone ring, his thoughts racing.

When he had first stepped off the train in Uminari Station, he had believed that this would be a relatively simple mission. Find some lunatic demon worshiper, take them down, go home. Now… now that Death was getting involved, things were becoming much more like his two most dangerous adventures, the two that had almost resulted in him losing his soul to darkness.

Soma gently pulled something out from the front of his shirt. It was a small pendant, shaped like one of the many that the Hakuba Shrine gave out. However, this one was special, because Mina had given it to him, blessed it herself. Just touching it, looking at it, gave Soma a boost.

"Soma?" Arikado asked when he picked up his phone. "What do you have to report?"

"We've made contact with Takamachi Nanoha," Soma said. "And we've learned a lot about what's going on. However, things have become more complicated, since Death has arrived on the scene."

Arikado sucked in a sharp breath. "Tell me everything." Soma quickly summarized the relevant points. "This is most disturbing," Arikado said when Soma had finished. "However, your mission has not changed. Find these Jewel Seeds, secure them, and foil whatever plan Death has. If you can, banish him back to the Netherworld, that will save us all a hassle."

"What do you think he wants with the Jewel Seeds?" Soma asked.

"I'll think on it, but for now, your focus is making sure that he cannot carry it out. The best way to do that is to get these objects before he does."

"Yes, sir," Soma said. "There is only one other matter, what to do with Nanoha. She wants to help us."

Arikado remained silent for a long minute. "What is your opinion on her, Soma?" he finally asked.

"Truthfully, I think she could be helpful," Soma said carefully. "She's only had her magic for a little under a month, and she already forced Death, whose power is second only to Dracula himself, to actually try to win. True, she had help, but that is still an impressive feat. Given some time and training, she'll rival Yoko, maybe even surpass her. Also, I think Yuuno will be more willing to accept us if someone he knows is around; he seems quite fond of Nanoha." Soma raised a hand and rubbed his temple. "And even if her parents don't allow her to help, she'll need to be protected."

"Yes," Arikado said. "Death has seen her soul, and knows she has what he wants. He will not leave her be." After a pause, Arikado continued. "Soma, if you accept her as part of your team, you are taking responsibility for her life. Are you prepared to accept that?"

"I am."

"Then I shall trust your judgment on the matter. You've earned that. Besides, you won't be alone for long, once Julius hears about this, he will want to come and assist you."

"Wonderful, a Belmont is just what we need right now." Soma said.

"Indeed. Well, until later, Soma. Inform me of any new developments." With that, Arikado hung up.

Slowly, Soma made his way back into the room where the others were waiting. He knew that talking Nanoha's parents into letting the young girl help, at least in a support role. He understood their concerns, he really did, but it would be such a waste to let such a talented young practitioner's skills go to waste. Besides, he had a feeling that she would not take the thought of being sidelined easily or quietly.

As soon as he stepped in, Nanoha looked up, a hopeful smile on her face. Somehow, she had switch out from the long white and blue dress back to the yellow and orange cloths that Soma had seen her wear in the security footage. "Well, what did he say?"

"That depends a great deal on your parents, Nanoha," Soma said, not wanting to get the girl's hopes up if they were putting their feet down.

Mr. Takamachi sighed. "After some… discussion," he said, glancing at his wife. "We've agreed that Nanoha can aid you on two conditions. First, Momoko and I need to be kept up to date on events and reserve the right to pull her out if we feel the situation is out of hand, and second, she will not be sent out alone on any mission." Soma nodded.

"I think those are perfectly acceptable terms, and I would have suggested them myself." He turned to Nanoha. "I simply wish to stress, one more time, that this is going to be dangerous. If you're working with us, I expect you to follow orders. If I tell you to flee, you will flee, do you agree with that?"

"Yeah!" Nanoha said, smiling warmly. "Yuuno and I will do our very best!" The ferret nodded, a smile on his face.

The impressive moment was damaged somewhat when Nanoha gave a big yawn, causing everyone to laugh a bit. "It is much past your bedtime, sweetheart," Mrs. Takamachi said, rubbing her daughter's hair. "Why don't you go to sleep, I have a feeling you're going to need your rest."

"Yes, Mama," Nanoha said, making her way to one of the rooms on the side of the building. As she reached it, she glanced back. "Are you coming, Yuuno?"

"Not quite yet, Nanoha," Yuuno said. "I have a few questions I need answered." As Nanoha opened her mouth, moving back towards the table, Yuuno rose on his hind legs. "I promise I'll tell you in the morning, but for now, you're mother's right; you need sleep. You used a lot of energy tonight."

After a long moment, Nanoha nodded, slipping into the room and closing the sliding door. Once she was gone, Yuuno turned back to Soma.

"Something Death said to you has me… worried," the ferret said, seeming to choose his words carefully. "What did he mean when he called you master?"

Soma inhaled sharply, his eyes flicking around the group. Only two people here knew of his true nature: Yoko and Hammer. Really, he should just refuse to answer the question, but now that Yuuno had brought the matter up… the others might start guessing, and eventually they would come up with an answer. The problem was that that these answers would likely be more damning than the real one.

"Before I answer that question," he said, "I need all of you to swear that you will not, under _any _circumstances, tell anyone what I am about to tell you. If you can't do that, I must ask you to leave, now." He turned his gaze to Akinobu. "That goes double for you." Slowly, everyone nodded.

"Death called me Master because I am the reincarnation of his first master," Soma said. "He's tried before to draw me back to his side before, but has failed every time." Soma chuckled grimly. "Still, he pretends that he still has a chance of succeeding. Its his way of trying to mess with me."

"So that's how you have so much power…" Akinobu whispered, his eyes wide.

"Yes," Yoko said. "But you don't have to worry, Soma's a good person. No matter where his powers came from, he still uses them to protect people."

"Well," Yuuno said. "I guess you're alright, since you saved Nanoha and I from Death."

"Thanks, Yuuno," Soma said.

Still, no one got much sleep that night, knowing that Death might still be around, waiting for the right moment to strike.

* * *

Back in Uminari, there was a tall hotel tower. This tower had several suites near the top of the building, but according to the records, none were currently taken. However, this did not mean that none of them were occupied.

Arf paced nervously as Fate sat on the couch near the window, meticulously checking Bardiche to make sure he hadn't been damaged in the fight with that… thing, which called itself Death.

"Fate, are you sure we should still be here?" Arf said for the tenth time. Gone was the belligerent, arrogant tone she had taken with those that intruded upon her Master's business. Instead, she almost sounded scared.

"Yes, Arf," Fate said, finally letting Bardiche return to his standby form: a golden triangular pendant, and placed him on her glove. "This area's warded with the best magic Mother taught, we're safe here."

"I didn't mean that," Arf said, moving to sit next to the blonde mage. "I meant on this planet at all. That _thing_ nearly killed you!"

"We were careless, we let our guard down," Fate said simply. "Next time, we will know what Death can do, and act accordingly."

Arf grabbed her ears in pained frustration. "And what if it does something different next time?!" she cried, glad for the soundproofing and wards that would cause any non-mage's eyes to slide over the suite's door as if it wasn't there. "If that thing is an avatar of Death, it must be so powerful…"

Fate smiled slightly, reaching up and placing a hand on her familiar's shoulder, rubbing gently. "And yet it had to resort to trickery to win," she said soothingly. "If this thing had existed on a planet like Mid Childa, where magic was common, I'd be more worried. But Mother says this place is a backwater, that there's nothing hear that can really threaten us, so long as we're careful."

Arf turned her gaze from Fate. "Yeah, well, you're mother's not here, is she? No, she's safe back at…" Fate's hand squeezed, causing Arf to stop in mid sentence.

"Arf, I know you don't like Mother," she said, a hint of steel in her voice. "But I trust her, and I will follow her orders. Besides, she's sick, she can't go anywhere right now." She raised her hand and stroked Arf's ear, rubbing away the pain. "It'll all be better soon, Arf. We'll get these Jewel Seeds, bring them to Mother, and she'll make everything better."

As she said this, she glanced at the only decoration in the room; a photo of a younger Fate and her mother, though the older woman's form was hidden in shadows.

AN: Now, things get interesting. Read, review, and tell your friends!


	4. Fate and Destiny

AN: I own nothing and I'm not making any money off this or any other story.

Review Response:

Nightraze: Glad you still like the story, more fights are coming up (not just with Death, he'll grab some minions as well.)

MangamanZX: Dezo's one of my favorite authors of all time, I really like his GrimGrimoire stuff.

jgkitarel: Sorry if it takes me a while to update, and I hope you keep liking the story.

Keith 'AzureGrimoire' Kurogane: Yeah, he did it right at the end of the chapter. That's the first time he met them.

AN: I want to give a big shout out to SAMAS, whoever they are, because they put this story on the TV Tropes recommendations page. You are awesome.

Chapter 4: Fate and Destiny 

"Soooooo…" Arisa said as she leaned back in her chair in the back of the car, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Let me get this straight. For the past few weeks, you've been doing all this really awesome magical girl stuff with a talking, magical space ferret; running around and saving the city from monsters, and _you didn't tell us about it_?! I thought we were friends!"

Nanoha flinched slightly at the other girl's accusing tone, both because it hurt a bit to see her friend annoyed with her and because she could completely sympathize with that anger. Ever since she and Yuuno had started their mission to reclaim the Jewel Seeds, she had felt… disconnected from her friends. She still loved them dearly, but, somehow, things just weren't the same.

A part of her regretted telling her friends about all this, but that wouldn't be fair anymore. They had noticed something was wrong the moment they woke up and saw Soma and his friends, and they had immediately turned to Nanoha as soon as they were in the car, driving back.

"I…" she said, "I just thought that… if I told you…"

"We wouldn't accept you anymore?" Suzuka asked. "Nanoha, you and Arisa are my friends, even thought… I'm a vampire. Why would we think any less of you for being able to use magic?"

"You were born with that," Nanoha said. "For me… it was chance that I was nearby when Yuuno called."

"Nanoha," Suzuka said quietly. "If you ask me, things don't just happen by chance. I think you were _meant_ to meet Yuuno, _meant_ to begin this mission." She smiled as she reached over and patted the mage on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Arisa said, patting Nanoha's other shoulder. "As annoyed as I am that you didn't tell us, you are my friend, and I'll stand by you."

Nanoha smiled as she gripped both her friends' hands. "Thank you," she whispered.

The trio sat in silence for a time before Arisa spoke up again. "I'm still having trouble believing that ferret can talk."

"Well, he did always seem so well behaved and smart," Suzuka said, smiling.

"Still, there's a difference between being a smart pet and being a magical talking ferret." Arisa said. "I mean, when I think about magical creatures, ferrets aren't my first thought. Really, you'd expect something bigger."

As Arisa said this, Nanoha's thoughts drifted back to last night. A chill passed through her as Death's words reverberated in her head: "_Should you choose to wear your real body, you would not warrant a second glance__…_" This almost immediately gave way to other memories, the scythe blade stopping a breath from her skin… the icy steel gripping her arms and legs… Fate hanging helpless in Death's grip as he laughed and laughed…

"Hey, snap out of it!" Arisa said, bopping Nanoha on the back of the head hard enough to be noticed but soft enough to not hurt. "You were spacing out on us there."

"Sorry," Nanoha said. "I was just… thinking."

She hadn't told Arisa and Suzuka everything about what had happened. She did know about Soma's… former self (she had listened at the door for a few minutes after she returned to her room,) but true to his wish, she hadn't told her friends that. She had also… downplayed the danger she had been in last night, making it seem as if she, Yuuno, Fate, and Arf had been an even match for Death, rather than merely delaying the inevitable…

'No,' she thought fiercely. 'Death's not invincible! Soma can beat him, and the rest of us can hold out against him for a time, long enough for Soma to get to us. We'll be fine.'

She then turned her attention back to the mystery of Yuuno. Now that Arisa mentioned it, a talking ferret was not something one would see arising naturally, and if Death was to be believed, then Yuuno wasn't in his true form…

'Hey, Yuuno?' Nanoha called mentally, reaching to the car at the head of the small train.

'Yes, Nanoha? What is it?' Yuuno responded.

'I need to talk to you about what Death said, about a ferret not being your true form. What did he mean?' There was a long pause before Yuuno continued.

'Didn't I ever mention that I wasn't a ferret naturally?' he asked.

'No'

'Well, I'm not. I'll show you once we reach home.'

"Nanoha, you're drifting off again," Arisa said, poking Nanoha.

"I was just talking to Yuuno," Nanoha said, opening her eyes. "I asked him about the ferret thing. Apparently, that's not his real form." Again, she didn't mention that it was Death that had given her the idea.

"Really?" Suzuka squeaked. "What is he then?"

"I don't know, he said he'd show me when we got back."

The group fell into silence, and after a moment, Nanoha turned her mind back to Yuuno. 'How are things going back there?'

'Alright, I guess,' Yuuno said. 'I'm still in shock about there being a major magical culture here on Earth. There aren't many TSAB records on this planet, mostly translated ones from the Belka era, but they agreed that it had a very… backwards… attitude towards magic. Something about burning those that were found.'

'Well,' Nanoha said. 'They did used to do that, mostly in Europe. Still, that was a long time ago, hasn't this Bureau come back?'

'I don't know, I'm not in the upper echelons of the Bureau's command structure.' There was a moment of silence before Yuuno spoke again. 'Actually, Yoko wants to talk to you herself, I'll keep the connection.'

'Okay,' Nanoha said. A few seconds later, the mental connection shifted, and Yoko's voice came over the line.

'Hey, Nanoha,' she said. 'We haven't really had that much chance to talk, how are you feeling?'

'Alright,' Nanoha said. 'Thank you all again for letting me help out.'

'Well, you and Yuuno have been doing a fairly good job, especially considering the fact that you had no form of support structure to work off of,' the older mage said. 'Still, do remember to be careful; whatever you faced before pales in comparison to Death.'

Nanoha flinched slightly as she remembered how easily the entities' weapon had slid through her shield. 'I know,' she thought back. 'Actually, I'm surprised that he didn't just, I don't know, will us to die. I mean, he is Death, right?'

'Well, it's complicated,' Yoko said. 'Death, for all his power, is still only a tiny fraction of his true strength. In his own realm, he truly is an almost godlike entity, but as soon as he manifests in the real world, he loses much of his power.'

'You mean… he's actually _stronger_ than he was when we fought him?' Yuuno asked, his mental voice shaking.

'Yes, but as I said, he has no way to access that power here.' Yoko said. 'I think you've seen just about the worst he has to offer already. We'll likely face him again, and when we do, I want you to hang back, let Soma or I take the brunt of his attacks. Lend what assistance you can, but your survival is the most important thing.'

'Can you beat him?' Nanoha asked, wondering just how strong Yoko was.

'I can give him a good fight,' Yoko said. 'But enough about that, tell me about your magic. Soma told me what you managed to do with that tree, that was quite impressive.'

The rest of the trip passed in peace, with Nanoha explaining the magic that Raising Heart had allowed her to use in as much detail as she could. It quickly became apparent to her that Yoko, for all her bubbly attitude, was a brilliant mind who knew the rules of magic inside out and backwards. It was actually quite stimulating.

Finally, however, the three cars pulled to a stop outside of a completely ordinary looking house and everyone clambered out. Nanoha considered asking Raising Heart to do a search to see what kind of wards were placed around it, but in the end she decided not to.

Soma arrived on foot not long after; having been flying cover through the mountain road in case Death tried anything on the way back. Judging by the fact that there had been no explosions, the answer to that was no.

"Well," Soma said as he looked around. "We should probably get inside; Death shouldn't know we're here yet, but the longer we stay out her the sooner he'll sense our souls."

"Dad, I'll drop off Shinobu and her family before heading back," Kyouya said.

"Alright, son," Nanoha's father said, patting his son on the shoulder. "Be careful."

"I will," Kyouya said.

"Hey, before we go," Arisa said, turning to Yuuno, who had bounded away from Yoko to stand with Nanoha. "Can you show us what you really look like?"

"Ummm… Sure," Yuuno said before bowing his head. Bright green light shone around him for a moment, before his body shifted upwards, rising onto two legs, arms lengthening, cloth forming across his form. A moment later, a boy, about Nanoha's age, stood before her. His hair was the same golden blond as the ferret's fur and his eyes remained green. All in all, the only thing that marked him as being any different from any other boy his age was his cloths: a white and brown tunic with green markings on the front, covered by a brown cloak.

"I… What?" Nanoha gasped, staring at Yuuno. She had not expected him to look human; he had said he didn't come from Earth, so _why would he look human_?

"I really should have mentioned it to you before," Yuuno said, his face turning slightly pink at the three girls' stares. "I hope you don't mind…"

"It's okay, Yuuno, I was just surprised," Nanoha said, quickly rallying. No matter what he looked like, Yuuno was still her friend.

"Yeah," Arisa said, glancing back. "I… I guess we should go." She grabbed one of Nanoha's hands for a moment. "Stay safe, alright?" Suzuka nodded, reaching out and taking Nanoha's other hand.

"I will, Arisa, Suzuka," Nanoha said, smiling bravely. "Just wait, this'll be over before you know it."

After a long moment, the other two girls made their way over to Kyouya's car and drove off, waving all the way. Slowly, Nanoha made her way over to Soma, who was watching.

"That's the hardest part," he said quietly as he led her inside. "When we're forced to leave those we care about behind. Don't work, Arikado's going to send some people over to make sure that they stay safe, and Death's unlikely to make the connection. They'll be alright."

"I know," Nanoha said.

Before long, the entire group was gathered around the central table of the safe house, where a large map of the city and surrounding area had been laid out. Several areas had been crossed off, marking spots where Soma had searched for Jewel Seeds, and Nanoha and Yuuno was in the process of pointing out the places they had searched, as well as noting where they had actually succeeded in finding a Jewel Seed.

"Well, that's cut down on our time a lot." Akinobu (who, along with everyone else, had been introduced to the newcomers.) "Still, we're running out of places to look."

"Well," Yuriko said. "We've accounted for ten of the gems now: we found two ourselves, and according to Ms. Nanoha's information, the unknown Fate has at least two, and you have six. That still leaves eleven." She looked up "What's our next move?"

Soma remained silent for a long moment, his eyes sweeping the map. "First, we have to talk about the two we have," he said, nodding to the two sheathed knives that lay to one side, out of the way. "We have a sealing system, but you're one seems more effective."

"You want me to seal them?" Nanoha asked.

"Yes, that is probably for the best. After that, Yoko, if you could lock them up in weapons again, that would provide an additional safeguard."

"Right," Yoko said, and Hammer reached back and started digging through the large bag he had.

"Um, we should probably take those outside," Yuuno said. "Sealing them in an enclosed area… will probably destroy half the room."

"And that would be bad," Soma said. "We'll do that when we have a chance, but we can seal the Jewel Seeds you've already weakened." Nanoha nodded, and Raising Heart ejected the six gems.

"I'll get started," Yoko said, gingerly picking up the six objects. Hammer immediately volunteered to go help, and the two moved into another room.

"Now, we have three problems to deal with: the remaining eleven gems, Death, and Fate," Soma said, looking at the map again. "Nanoha, Yuuno, do you have any idea who she is or what she wants the Jewel Seeds for?"

"I'm afraid not," Nanoha said sadly. "I tried to talk to her, but she doesn't seem interested in listening, and that Arf isn't helping." She looked down. "I don't think she's evil, like Death is. She just seems… sad."

"We'll do what we can to talk to her," Soma said. "But the most important thing is to ensure that Death does not get his hands on the Jewel Seeds. He's powerful and dangerous enough without those things giving him a boost." The white-haired man turned to Yuuno. "You've mentioned a Bureau several times; is there any way we can get them involved?"

"I don't think so," Yuuno said. "I came here on my own; when I heard that the Jewel Seeds I had found had gone missing, I felt I had to do something, and I still had my original track. It wasn't very good, so it could only lead me to the general area, but I thought I could grab them before they started activating." He sighed. "It seems, however, that there's enough magic on this world to speed up their activation, and before I knew it, I was faced with a serious battle. If Nanoha hadn't found me, I probably wouldn't have survived."

Soma nodded grimly. "Then I guess we'll have to do this ourselves," he said. "Reinforcements are on the way, but until Julius arrives, we're going to have to be careful." He turned to Nanoha. "As I promised your parents, you're not to go out alone, and Yuuno doesn't count. That means you'll likely be working with Yoko most of the time, and that means we have to get a better idea of what exactly you can do."

"What do you mean?" Nanoha asked.

"We know you're strong, but that's only a generality. We need to be able to judge exactly what your strengths and weaknesses are, so that if a situation arises and you need to fight, your abilities can be put to the best use." Nanoha saw her father's eyes twitch at the thought of his youngest going into danger, but her mother put a hand on his arm for a moment and they shared a short look.

"We could go right now," Nanoha said, pointing out an area of the map, on the other side of the city from the resort. "Neither of us have been there, and while we search, we can talk about magic." Soma agreed after a quick glance at Nanoha's parents,

"Would the two of you like a ride?" Shiro asked. Nanoha knew her father well enough to know that he very much wanted to remain as involved as he could. It seemed Soma recognized this as well, since he quickly agreed.

"Still, you shouldn't go out unprepared," he said, making his way over to the room that Hammer and Yoko were working in. After a minute, he returned holding a bag and a sheathed katana. "Your file says you can handle yourself in a fight if necessary, but Death is resistant to normal weapons and defenses. This is Kunitsuna, and there are two ward-charms in the bag that will keep you safe from the worst of his attacks, along with some potions in case someone does get injured. I hope you won't need it, but it's best to prepare for a crisis that doesn't happen than not prepare and have it happen."

"Very wise," Nanoha's father said, accepting the offered objects.

After a few goodbyes, Nanoha was once again sitting in the back of the car, along with Yuuno, who had returned to his ferret form after muttering something about not being dressed properly for the area.

Nanoha watched Soma, who was sitting in front of her. She wasn't absolutely sure, since she couldn't see his eyes, but he seemed to be deep in thought. Acting on a sudden whim, she reached out with her telepathy and did the mental equivalent of knocking politely on the door. She had long been curious whether Earth mages could also speak with their minds, or if it was a skill unique to Yuuno's people.

After a long moment, a gentle, female voice answered her. 'You need something, Nanoha dear?'

Nanoha's eyes widened. 'Who are you?' she squeaked.

'My name is Persephone,' the woman said, giggling, and an image flashed through Nanoha's head: a pretty woman who was wearing a blue dress that looked almost exactly the same as Noel's and Falin's. 'Master Soma's talking with some of the others right now, so he asked me to talk to you. To answer your question, I'm one of the demon souls that's sworn allegiance to Master Soma.'

'Souls…' Nanoha thought, a chill passing through her. 'You mean… Soma steals souls…'

'Steal is such a strong word for it, child,' Persephone said gently. 'Each and every one of us respected Master Soma's strength after he defeated us in battle, and we joined him willingly as our constructed bodies failed. Well… almost all of us.'

'What do you mean?' Nanoha asked.

'For a while, Master Soma held a fragment of Death's soul, but it deserted him when it felt the rest of the Dark Angel nearby. Although… I suppose Master Soma might not have found you if the soul hadn't lead him to you, so I guess everything worked out.'

'Sorry about that,' Soma's voice drifted through the link. 'You wanted something, Nanoha?'

'Well, I… I just wanted to know a bit more about you,' Nanoha eventually manage. 'I mean, you know everything about me…'

'I wouldn't say everything, Nanoha,' Soma said mildly. 'True, your family has a file with the organization I work for, but you weren't discussed much.' He paused for a moment before continuing. 'If you really want to know, I guess I could tell you a bit about myself, though you'll forgive me if I don't talk about what came… before. I don't like to think about those memories.'

The rest of the trip to the edge of the city passed calmly, with Soma mostly talking about his youth. Nanoha wanted to ask him about how he learned about his power, but decided that if he wanted to talk about it he'd get there in his own time.

Finally, Shiro pulled into a small parking lot at the edge of the city, "You've all been quiet," he said conversationally as the group clambered out. Nanoha felt a mischievous spark within her, and she answered with her mind.

'We were having a nice conversation, Dad,' she said, causing her father to jump slightly.

"I didn't know you'd become a telepath, Nanoha," he said as Nanoha giggled.

"Yuuno taught me, and I was practicing a bit," she said. "Soma was nice enough to help me out."

"I've never actually had a telepathic conversation with another person before, so it was as much of an eye opener for me as it was for her," Soma said. "Now, should we get started?"

"Yeah" Nanoha said eagerly, pulling Raising Heart out from the front of her shirt as the group made their way into the trees. After a few minutes, they reached a clearing and Soma stopped.

"We'll practice here for a while, shall we? You're an aerial fighter, right?" Soma said, getting a nod from Nanoha. He jumped lightly, before jumping on the air again, and again, finally reaching the to s of the trees.

"How do you do that?" Nanoha asked, flying up after him as her Barrier Jacket formed around her and Raising Heart expanded into its staff mode.

"It's one of the powers I get. I used to only be able to jump twice, but with… practice, I was able to keep going." Soma nodded. "Now, the best way I can think to see what your fighting style is to have a quick spar. Take it easy, we're not trying to hurt each other, just see what we can do."

"Right!" Nanoha called.

"I'll just… watch," Yuuno said, sounding nervous.

"I'll have to test you as well, Yuuno, so don't go too far," Soma said mildly, drawing his blade from his coat, though it wasn't being consumed by the same demonic fire as it usually was. Yuuno gulped slightly.

'Don't worry, this is just practice,' Nanoha thought cheerfully at Yuuno. 'It'll be fun!'

'This is the guy who scares Death,' Yuuno said. 'I reserve the right to be intimidated.'

Nanoha turned her gaze back on Soma, who was waiting quietly, still hovering in mid air.

"Ready?" he called.

"Yep!" she said back.

"Begin!" Soma called, shooting forward suddenly. Nanoha squeaked, bringing up Raising Heart.

"**Protection**!" the device said, forming a shield in front of Nanoha. Just as Soma reached it, his sword flared and he vanished, and a moment later Nanoha felt a blade against the side of her neck.

"Death can teleport," Soma said mildly. "Never have a shield that can only protect you from one direction unless you have someone else covering your back." He removed his weapon, and Nanoha turned back to face him. "However, when Death teleports, he can't change where he'll come out, so if you can somehow predict where he'll go, you can turn the tables on him, at least for a moment."

"Can we try again?" Nanoha asked, drifting back to the other edge of the area.

"How about you go on the attack this time," Soma said. "I want to see what kind of power you've got." Nanoha grinned, offensive magic was her specialty.

"Divine Shooter!" she called, forming six balls of pink light around her as she pointed Raising Heart at Soma.

"**Shoot**!" Raising Heart finished, launching the bolts. Soma immediately started moving, dashing and jumping through the air to evade the relentless orbs, occasionally slicing one out of the air if it came too close. Nanoha would immediately replace it, however, to keep up the pressure.

After a minute, however, Soma turned and started heading towards her again, though slower this time as he was still dodging the Divine Shooter bolts. Nanoha started moving herself, but her accuracy suffered for it, allowing Soma to move faster as well. Eventually, this fed back on itself until Nanoha was merely trying to keep away from the pursuing quasi-mage.

"Enough!" Soma called, coming to a halt. "You're fast, which is good, but it would be nice if you could continue directing your shots while you fly. Also, you're attacks are a bit weak, is there any way to make them stronger?"

"Well, I have Divine Buster, but I really need to stay still to cast that, and I can't guide it," Nanoha said, causing Soma to nod.

"And that would negate your advantage and put you at risk."

He turned to Yuuno, who had shifted back into his human form. "Now, let's see what you can do."

"Sure…" the boy said, swallowing. Nanoha flew down to stand with her father as Yuuno took her place.

"You did quite well," Shiro said quietly as the pair watched Soma's sword flashing, battering against Yuuno's shield, though half the strikes missed, as Yuuno would dart back and forward when he could.

"Really?" Nanoha asked.

"Yeah…" A long moment of silence passed before her father continued. "Still, Nanoha, I want you to be careful out there. Listen to what Mr. Soma and the others have to say, and keep your wits about you."

"I will," Nanoha said, grabbing her father's hand and squeezing gently.

Finally, Soma was able to get around Yuuno's guard by somehow teleporting twice within a few seconds (with both the quick blink he had used on Nanoha and, surprisingly, switching places with a doll). This multi-pronged attack allowed him to finally bypass Yuuno's defense.

"That was very, very good," Soma said as the pair landed. "I'm used to facing more aggressive foes, so you're purely defensive style made it hard." He looked between Nanoha and Yuuno. "Your skills will work well together, Nanoha is able to launch attacks well, and Yuuno can keep her safe. Stick together, and you'll be able to hold out against even Death, at least for a time."

"Great," Nanoha said. "Can Yuuno and I have a go together?"

"That sounds like a good idea, and then we'll spend some time searching the area before returning to the safe house." Once again, the group rose into the air.

'Yuuno, is there anything you can do to slow him down?' Nanoha asked.

'Well, I suppose I could try some binds,' Yuuno said. 'But he'll probably just break out…'

'If we time it right, then I can hit him before he does that,' Nanoha said.

'But I thought we weren't going all out, just practicing,' Yuuno said.

'We're training, and that means we have to push ourselves a bit, doesn't it?' Nanoha though just as Soma called for them to begin.

The pair darted immediately upwards, trying to gain a height advantage over Soma. Nanoha launched a volley of Divine Shooter bolts and Yuuno started trying to grab him with a bind. 'He's too fast! I need you to keep him still!'

'On it!' Nanoha said, arching the bullets around to block Soma's path as he moved towards them. The pause only lasted a second, but it was enough for Yuuno to snag one of his legs.

"Interesting," Soma said as he summoned another doll and tossed it while cutting more of the Divine Shooter bolts out of the air with his katana, but nothing happened and the doll simply faded as it fell to the ground. "It can block teleports? That will be very useful against Death!" His entire body glowed for a second, and the bind shattered, along with the three bolts that hit it.

"**Master. SS ranked defense detected**," Raising Heart said. "**Probability of penetration, minimal**."

"He'll have to stay put for that one," Yuuno said. "It's too strong to be mobile."

True to Yuuno's words, Soma only started jumping again when the glow faded, but that didn't help Nanoha and Yuuno much, as he was approaching fast.

'It's two on one,' Nanoha thought. 'There's got to be some way to beat him…'

The pair started flying, and once again Nanoha's bolts started tapering off. Soma was right; she really needed to work on her multi-tasking.

The running battle lasted almost fifteen minutes, and neither side was able to so much as scratch the other. Finally, Soma called a halt.

"Alright, that's enough for now," he said, putting his sword away. "As I suspected, together you two can keep Death at bay, at least for a time."

"Soma," Nanoha said. "How much were you trying during the fight?"

Soma studied her for a moment before answering. "It's not that I wasn't trying, but I didn't use my more lethal abilities. Still, if you and Yuuno keep your wits about you and work together, you'll be able to survive." His eyes narrowed. "You're not going to beat Death on your own, leave that to either Yoko, myself, or Julius Belmont, who will be arriving soon. Your survival is the most important thing for you to focus on, is that clear?" Nanoha and Yuuno both nodded. "Now, we still have some time, so lets search for the Jewel Seeds."

* * *

Soma stood alone, his eyes distant as he used his telepathy to speak with the others. The light of the moon causing his white cloths and hair to glow slightly, giving him a mysterious aura.

It had been several days since he and Nanoha had gone out looking for Jewel Seeds, and despite the group's best efforts, they still had not found any more. Soma was beginning to believe that the remaining objects had fallen well away from Uminari, and had said as much to Arikado in their last correspondence the night before. Arikado had said that he had other agents scouring other cities in Japan, but he reminded Soma that, if ten of the jewels had fallen in the area, it was likely that the others were in the area.

The time had not been completely wasted, of course. Nanoha and Yoko had split their time between practicing magic and searching, and the former had been going very well. Nanoha had already managed to work on her cast while moving block to the point that she only suffered a minor dip in efficiency while moving at high speeds. Soma had been forced to revise his opinion of her: if she continued advancing at the rate she was, she'd be better than Yoko by the end of the year, and depending on how high her ceiling was, she might truly rival him within a decade. Once again, he was glad he'd brought her on board; it would have been a terrible shame to let that kind of potential go unrealized, and even worse to see such a bright soul snuffed out by Death.

'There are some small islands not far from here,' he thought to Yuuno, who was with Nanoha and Yoko on the other side of the city. 'It's possible that some of them landed over there, so I suggest we try that tomorrow, since we're almost out of places to search on the mainland.'

'Yeah,' Yuuno said. 'I guess we should head back, it sure got dark fast.'

'Yeah,' Soma said, looking up. 'And it looks like a storm is rolling in, look at those… clouds…'

'Wasn't the forecast supposed to be a clear night?' Nanoha asked.

Before Soma could answer, a flash of lightning fell from the cloud into the city, causing thunder to crash.

'Master!' Rycuda the Lightning Bird cawed in Soma's mind. "This lightning is not natural! It is being summoned!"

'Death?' Soma asked grimly.

'No, Master! Human!'

'It must be Fate!' Nanoha cried. 'What's she up to?'

During this conversation, lightning had continued to fall. Suddenly, a bright light rose from the sight of the last strike.

'A Jewel Seed!' Yuuno cried. 'But how… we searched the city…'

'We'll figure out what went wrong later!' Soma said, jumping and calling upon Hippogriff to propel himself higher into the air. 'For now, we have to get that Jewel Seed! She'll have attracted Death's attention with that stunt!' Once he reached the proper height, he used Black Panther to dash through the air.

'Right!' everyone said.

Meanwhile, Fate and Arf had left their position atop a skyscraper and dashed down to the shattered remains of a portion of street, where the jewel rose as it was powered up by Fate's lightning. She glanced around, watching civilians running for their lives with a shake of her head. She had no interest in harming them, they did not need to run so fast.

"We must hurry, Arf," Fate said, switching Bardiche into Sealing Mode. "They will be coming." With that, she pointed the Device at the humming gem. "Bardiche, seal it."

"**SEALING**!" Bardiche said triumphantly, though only those who knew his voice well could distinguish it from a monotone. A mighty bolt of lightning speared from the black shape, impaling the Jewel Seed and forcing it into submission. Finally, after a long moment, it was done. Fate lowered her Device and started forward, intent on claiming the Lost Logia.

She was interrupted, however, by a shout from behind her. Turning, she saw that girl hovering a short distance away, along with a boy who wore TSAB style clothing and an older blonde mage sitting on a broom.

"Fate!" the brunette called. "Are you alright?"

Fate blinked; she and this girl were enemies, why did she sound concerned. True, they had fought that creature together, but that had been a fluke. "Leave," she said, using a flicker of magic to guide her voice across the distance. It wouldn't do to shout; it would likely be seen as a sign of weakness, and she couldn't afford to be weak. "I must claim these Jewel Seeds, and I will not let anyone stand in my way."

"Fate, be reasonable!" the blonde woman hovering near the brunette shouted. "We can talk about this…"

"The time for talk has passed," Fate said simply, remembering her mother's orders. "Stand aside, or I will defeat you. Bardiche."

"**Yes, Sir,"** the faithful Device said, bringing the ax head back to ninety degrees. "**Scythe Form. Set up**."

"Yeah!" Arf called, baring her teeth in a growl. "This time, there's no skeleton to convince us to spare you!"

"Death's coming!" the brunette shouted. "He'll be here any minute, and we have to stand together against him! Please, Fate, don't do this!" Fate sighed, she had been hoping that these people wouldn't make her do this, but it seemed they would insist on being bothersome.

"Then I'll have to defeat you before he arrives, won't I?" she said before dashing forward at high speed, raising Bardiche. 'Arf, get the Jewel Seed I sealed. I'll keep them busy.'

It seemed that the blonde had the same idea, as she darted down towards the ground while the Bureau mage and brunette moved to meet Fate.

"**Blitz Action**!" Bardiche said, and the world blurred around Fate as she moved behind the girl, raising her scythe.

'Don't worry, I'll make this quick. I'm sorry,' she thought gently.

As her scythe fell, however, a plain of green light was already in position to intercept it, and several balls of pink light were flying towards her. Fate was barely able to block them before dashing back a distance, staring at the mage in shock.

'Is this truly the same girl I defeated so easily in our first meeting?' she thought, watching the brunette turn to her.

"Fate, if you won't listen to reason, I guess I'll just have to _make_ you listen!" she said, pointing her own Device at Fate. "Yuuno, watch out for Death, this is my fight."

"But Soma said…" the Bureau mage started before shaking his head and drifting back a meter or two. "If you insist, Nanoha. Be careful."

"I will," the girl, Nanoha, said. "Raising Heart, are you ready?"

"**Yes, my Master**," the white and pink staff said, its red gem-core flashing.

'Arf?' Fate asked, shifting Bardiche in her hands.

'This lady's tough,' Arf said, sounding slightly stressed. 'If you can hurry up and beat the tar out of your "friend", I'd really appreciate it.' Fate nodded.

Their eyes locked, and Fate waited until the girl blinked before dashing forward again. Nanoha dodged back, more pink balls of magic forming around her.

"Fate, what are you trying to accomplish?" she asked as Fate battered her way through the attack, only to be blocked by a shield. "What's the point of this?"

"You could never understand my purpose," Fate said grimly, commanding Bardiche to unleash and Arc Saber before flipping back into shooting mode. It was clear that the other mage had figured out multi-tasking since they had last fought, so she would actually have to try to beat her this time.

"You don't know that!" the brunette said, evading a volley of Photon Lancer shots and retaliating with her own strike. "Please, Fate, I don't want to fight you. Why can't we talk our differences out, it'll save so much time and pain." Her blue eyes met Fate's red ones over crossed Devices. "I don't like seeing you so sad."

"I'm not sad," Fate said, shoving the other girl back and using Blitz Action again, this time to move a meter or so above her opponent's head. Again, however, Nanoha had darted away as soon as Fate started moving, though she had clearly thought Fate would show up behind her again, since that's where the pink bullets were waiting. Fate destroyed most of them with a sweep of Bardiche before they could reverse.

"You are," the infuriating girl said, and what's worse she sounded as if she pitied Fate. "Please, let me help you…"

"I don't need your help!" Fate snarled, a flash of anger filling her before she forced it down. Emotions were a weakness; she couldn't let the enemy rile her up. That would make her lose focus.

'Fate! Hurry!' Arf growled. 'They're right about one thing, that search spell will certainly attract that Death guy, and we don't want to fight him right now!'

"Fate, this is pointless!" the brunette called at the same time over the flash of scythe meeting shield. "Death's the enemy here, not each other. You understood that! Let's get out of here before he shows up!"

"Too late."

Both battles stopped as everyone turned to look at the Jewel Seed. Floating there, holding the gem, was Death, who would have probably been wearing a triumphant grin if he had skin. He vanished suddenly, as the white-clad mage Arf had described arrived in a blur, his black blade slicing through the spot Death had been.

"Give it up, Death!" the new arrival shouted as he shot into the air to the same level as Death had reappeared at. "You're even more outnumbered than you were last time!"

"I remind you, young Master, that I don't need to defeat you," Death said, his voice almost sounding pitying. "I already have what I came for, and it's all thanks to your mortal need to fight among yourselves." The skeleton laughed coldly. "Truly, you are your own worst enemy. Now, I'll be…"

"Not this time!" Arf shouted as an orange circle formed under her feet. "**BARRIER**!"

The colors of the city around the group shifted as a dome of light rose around them, and the few people who had dared to stay and watch the light show vanished, displaced as the battle moved a half-dimension over.

"Leave now, sucker!" Arf crowed.

Death looked around. "Impressive, I didn't think a pathetic creature like yourself had a skill like this." He chuckled darkly. "Ultimately futile, of course, since I can break it easily enough."

"Not before we rip you apart!" the blonde mage called, spinning the want she was carrying and forming several balls of lightning around herself.

"That might be true, Belnades, if I planned on fighting you myself," Death said. "Fortunately for me, that's what I have minions for." His scythe appeared in a pool of darkness and he slashed it through the air five times, cutting the fabric of reality with each slice. "**Come, denizens of Hell, answer my call**!"

Four of the slashes expelled tall, thin red demons with long tails and wicked looking spears. The last, which was much larger, unleashed two monsters, a massive blue beast with wings for arms and a wide, gaping maw. It carried a second creature in its talons: an almost skeletal being with a long neck, bloodstained beak, and a spear of its own. The whole group looked thoroughly unpleasant.

The mage in white simply laughed. "Malacodas, Slogra and Gaibon?" he asked. "I can handle these guys by myself, leaving Yoko and the others to reduce you to a paste."

"Really, young Master, you think I'm done?" Death chided. "I still have a… oh, what is that mortal phrase… ah yes, an 'ace in the hole'."

With an unholy shriek, the seal Fate had put on the Jewel Seed shattered, causing it to flare in Death's hand. A moment later, the two creatures the mage had called Gaibon and Slogra were engulfed in a beam of chaotic energy, causing them both to roar in agony as their bodies melded and warped.

"No… he wouldn't…" the brunette muttered, her eyes wide. Death smirked before speaking in a voice that dripped power.

"**Kill them. All of them.**" With that, Death formed a barrier of his own and turned to Arf's barrier.

"We'll deal with the big one!" the white-clad mage shouted to the brunette. "Stay safe, Malacodas are nasty buggers!"

Fate glanced at the other mage, thinking. 'Arf, come back and support me,' she said.

"Fate, are we going to keep fighting?" Nanoha asked. Fate slowly shook her head.

"We'll finish later. For now, these things seem to be the greatest threat."

"That's great, Fate!" the other girl said, smiling. Fate felt a slight flutter in her chest at the sight, but she pushed it back, there was business to attend to.

The first of the demons dashed at her, its tail whipping and spear gleaming. Fate dashed around it, slashing with Bardiche and giving it a nasty burn. Meanwhile, Nanoha was easily evading her opponent, peppering it with bolts of magic as it tried to whip her with its tail.

Arf had grabbed the third enemy's spear and was trying to yank it away. She succeeded and twirled to ram it through the demon's chest, causing it to squeal in pain. Just as it started to burn, however, its tail lashed around, scoring a deep wound across Arf's chest. Fate winced as her familiar's pain flashed across their bond, and her heart wrenched at the terrible scream Arf let out.

"Yuuno! Help her!" Nanoha wailed, finally finishing of her enemy with a blast to the head.

"On it!" the mage called, leaving his opponent in a bind as he darted to catch the falling familiar. Fate glanced at Nanoha, who was charging up a heavy blast of some sort to take out the bound demon before it escaped.

"Why are you helping?" she asked, ducking under a stab from the spear before smashing Bardiche's blade through it, causing it to disintegrate.

"She was hurt," Nanoha said.

"**Divine Buster**!" Her device said, blasting the demon with a heavy bombardment class attack. Clearly, she was stronger than Fate had anticipated.

"Besides," Nanoha said, smiling as if she hadn't just incinerated an enemy. "I like it better when we're working together. I'm Nanoha, by the way, though you probably heard that."

Fate nodded, blinking. She wondered again why was this girl being so friendly? They were enemies, only working together temporarily to defeat a different enemy. It wasn't like they were friends or anything. She glanced back to see how the others were doing in their battle.

She saw the large, winged creature, somehow both skeletal and muscular, and carrying a flaming spear. It tried to smash the white clothed mage, only to be smashed back by a large fireball that he threw from his fist. Then, he vanished, only to reappear behind it and deliver three massive strikes with his blade. There was also a gigantic blade flying under its own power, following the man and attacking the monster. The female mage, meanwhile, was launching trios of large, crackling balls of lightning that burned through the creature and causing it to drop its spear, though the Jewel Seeds power allowed it to regenerate quickly.

Suddenly, it dashed forward with unnatural speed. Both of the older mages dodged it, but it continued on… heading right for Nanoha, who didn't notice it because she was trying to break through Death's barrier.

In that moment, everything her mother told her meant nothing. Every dissenting instinct was silenced. Fate didn't think. She acted.

"Back!" she called, using Blitz Action to move to Nanoha's side and shove her away.

The creature slammed into her, and everything went black.

Soma's eyes widened as Fate was smashed against the barrier by the twisted combination of Slogra and Gaibon. He and Yoko had wounded it badly, and it was beginning to simply thrash around. Thankfully, since it didn't have its spear any more, it had simply hit Fate with a lot of blunt force trauma, which according to Nanoha Barrier Jackets were good at taking. Still, she looked to be in bad shape as she fell. Nanoha, meanwhile, was still reeling from the shove when one of Slogra/Gaibon's fists slammed into her, sending her spinning out of control, though it seemed she would be able to recover.

"Get her!" he called to Yoko, pointing at Fate. The witch nodded and darted after the falling mage. Soma's eyes narrowed as he dashed towards the monster, summoning his powers even as he buried Muramasa up to the hilt in the creature's spine.

'Gergoth. Destroy this abomination.'

"By thy will, Master!" the tormented beast called, and as Soma extended both hands, leaving Muramasa in place. From his outstretched arms came a massive laser, burning through the demonic defenses. After a moment, it fades, leaving a weakened but still living demon behind.

"Let's finish this! GREAT AXE ARMOR!"

'It will not live, my Lord!' the mighty knight called as an impressive axe appeared over Soma's head and swung down, sundering the dark creature down the middle.

After a long moment, the two halves warped, leaving the mutilated corpses of Slogra and Gaibon, which soon burned away and revealed two souls. Soma stretched out one hand to claim them as he caught Muramasa with the other, only to watch as they turned grey and shattered.

'What…' Persephone whispered. 'They're gone… He killed them… forever…'

"Interesting," Death said. "It seems that they could not withstand the pure chaos of this magnificent object. This is working better than I had anticipated."

Soma's eyes flicked up to the grinning skeleton, who swung his scythe one last time to shatter the barrier Arf had put up even as his own fell to Nanoha's blast.

"You destroyed two souls that could have lived forever… and that's going _well_!?" Soma asked.

"Gaibon and Slogra would be proud, knowing that their sacrifice brought me one step closer to resurrecting our master… that is, you." Death said. "I regret that it came to that, but ultimately, they are expendable."

"If you're so determined to have a new master, why not find a new one? Why continue to try and ruin my life and the lives of everyone around me!?" Soma shouted. Death shook his head.

"Master, surely you remember what happened to that fool Dmitrii. It's quite simple, _there is no one else_! You are the only one who can be the Dark Lord. It is unavoidable. It is your destiny."

"If that's so, then why did you serve him? I faced you in the Abyss."

Death started laughing again. "I never served that pathetic fake! I foresaw what would become of him, and saw an opportunity. Though he would never be able to withstand the power of Dominance, he would give rise to the creature you called Menace, a creature that might have been able to kill you. However, you were approaching too fast, and if you were allowed to interfere, that creature would never come to be, so I stepped in to slow you down." He shook his head, drifting away from Soma. "But enough talk, I shall be taking my leave." He raised his hand in a snapping position.

Suddenly, a brown blur rose behind the skeleton and an almighty _CRACK_ filled the air. Death was driven forward a meter or so by the sudden blow, but the newcomer wasn't done yet. A glowing cross flew from his hand, smashing into the dark creature and causing him to let out a hiss of pain, and then another after a second _CRACK_ echoed. Death tried to turn and face his attacker, but the brown-clad man was already hovering beneath him.

"**GRAND**…" a mighty roar shook the glass in the surrounding buildings. Death immediately teleported, and Soma felt the dark aura fade: Death had truly fled the field. "**CROSS!**"

A massive pillar of light rose from the hovering figure, whose brown coat blew in the mighty wind his attack was causing. About two thirds of the way up the light, two prongs stabbed out, forming the shape of a sacred mark that would have caused Death much pain if he had still been present, perhaps even defeated him outright. After a long moment, the power ended, and the holy warrior jumped on the air again before shooting towards a nearby roof, where Yuuno was trying to treat Arf and Yoko had carried the unconscious Fate. Soma laughed quietly as he saw Nanoha's eyes: they were as wide as dinner plates. Nodding, he led the way over to the roof.

"Quite the dynamic entry, Julius. Very dramatic," Soma said, sheathing Muramasa.

Julius Belmont, the world's most powerful vampire hunter, hung his family's whip on his belt with a huff. "Not dynamic enough," he said grimly. "Death escaped."

"Still, you shook his confidence," Soma said. "Rather than leaving on his own terms, you drove him off. That'll be a blow to his pride if nothing else."

"Who…" Nanoha whispered, staring at Julius.

"Nanoha Takamachi, I presume," Julius said without preamble, shifting his cool eyes to her. She nodded weakly. "I am Julius Belmont." He studied her for a moment longer before turning back to Soma. "Arikado told me that she was young, but I did not believe it. Are you certain that involving her is a good idea?"

Despite her awe, Soma could see Nanoha bristle at Julius' dismissal. Julius was a mighty warrior and was completely dedicated to eradicating the forces of darkness. However, this single-minded mission left him little time to be social, and thus he often took the path of brutal honesty: he called them as he saw them, no matter what people might think.

"Don't let her age fool you, Julius. Give her a year or so of training, and she'll probably be Yoko's equal, maybe even better."

Julius' eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch, which could mean anything from him being impressed to him not believing a word Soma had just said. He chose not to comment, however, as he turned to the others.

'Soma?' Nanoha asked mentally after a moment. 'Does he… not like me?'

'Don't worry about it,' Soma thought gently. 'Julius might not have much in the way of tact, but he's not that bad of a guy once you get to know him. He doesn't want to see anyone get hurt.' Soma nodded forward. 'Let's see how our mysterious friends are doing.' Nanoha's eyes widened again and she dashed forward, breezing past Julius to get to Fate. Soma, meanwhile, made his way to Arf's side.

"Fate…" Arf moaned, her eyes slightly glazed. "Where's Fate…"

"The healing isn't holding!" Yuuno said desperately, his hands glowing green as he ran them over the nasty rent in Arf's belly. "It's like… whenever I start making progress… it just opens itself again…"

"The wound's cursed!" Yoko gasped, looking up from the young, blonde mage she had been treating. "Just a moment, I'll prepare a ritual…"

"No time, she'll bleed out before you finish," Julius said grimly, pulling a bottle of glowing liquid out of his coat pocket. "I have the solution right here."

"Umm… Julius, are you sure that's a good idea?" Yoko asked, staring at the liquid warily. Julius ignored her, making his way to the wounded wolf-girl's side.

"Get away from me, old timer!" Arf snarled over a gasp of pain.

"Brace yourself, ma'am," Julius said, ignoring Arf's furious words as he uncorked the bottle. "This might sting a bit."

This turned out to be a gross understatement, if the howled curses meant anything as Julius poured the contents of the bottle along the wound. Soma found himself wincing, he remembered when he and Julius had first fought, in Castlevania, and how much that bloody Holy Water _hurt_. Soma glanced at Nanoha, and chuckled when he saw Yoko covering her ears as the venomous tirade finally tapered off.

"The pain is far better than what would have happened to you if I hadn't done that," Julius said calmly, as if he hadn't just been cussed out, as he handed Arf a potion. "Besides, the cleansing flames cauterized the wound, so you won't bleed out either. Now, drink this and you'll feel better."

Arf, however, simply threw the bottle back at Julius (who caught it easily) and pulled herself to her feet before stumbling over to Fate.

"Don't touch her," Yoko said, warding the familiar back. "She's still in bad shape, she shouldn't be moved too fast. Besides, you're far from a hundred percent yourself, you both need someplace safe to rest and recuperate."

"Forget it, we're leaving," Arf snarled, trying again to push past the witch.

"And where will you go?" Yoko asked, refusing to budge. "If you leave, it's only a matter of time before Death picks you off. He's a lot stronger than either of you, and he has no grasp of mercy. If you and Fate leave, you will die, is that what you want?" Arf snarled quietly, glaring around.

"Arf…" Nanoha said, looking up from where she was crouching at Fate's side. "Please… we want to help you…"

Soma glanced at Julius, who had placed a hand on his whip, and shook his head. Violence had to be a last resort here; there were too many other factors at work.

Finally, after a minute, Arf let out a snort. "Fine," she muttered. "But know this, if any of you hurt Fate, I'll rip you apart with my bare teeth."

Soma let out the breath he had been holding, things were looking up. "Alright, we need to get Fate back to the safe house," he said, stepping forward. "We…" He was cut off by a banging on the door leading up to the roof.

"What's going on up there?!" a man shouted, trying to force it open. "What're all the lights and sounds about?!" Soma's sharp hearing picked up the sound of several people whispering behind the door.

"I'll deal with this," Soma said, making his way over to the door. At some point, someone (likely Yoko) must have blocked it off, so it took him a moment to open the door. As he had expected, there was quite the crowd behind the door.

"I'm sorry, this is a highly classified mission. I'll have to ask you all too leave. Good night." With that, Soma closed the door before the group, at least one of whom had been either filming or taking pictures with his phone, could ask any questions. "Now how do we get off the roof without dealing with a crowd?" he asked, making his way back to Fate.

"Well, I can teleport her out, she's stable enough for that." Yuuno said. "I should be able to take most of you with me as well."

"I'll make my own way back," Soma said. "See you all there." Everyone nodded, and a few moments later, everyone except Soma vanished in a flash of green light.

Soma unbarred the door again before walking to the edge of the roof. 'Bat Company?' he thought, spreading his arms.

'We obey!' dozens of voices chattered eagerly. Soma felt his body shift, and a moment later, a pure white bat was hovering where he had been. He immediately took off towards the safe house, his ears picking out the continued calls of the crowd below, though thankfully none of them seemed to notice him.

Once he was out of the way of the majority of the crowd, Soma made his way back to the ground and shifted back to his human form. He didn't want to inadvertently lead Death right back to the safe house, and he would be certain to look for Soma's bat form. Instead, Soma calmly hailed a cab and gave a destination several blocks away from where he was actually going.

Finally, he reached the safe house and let himself in to find everyone gathered in the "living room." Fate was still unconscious, and Arf was sitting protectively next to her on the couch.

"Look," Yoko was saying, sounding frustrated. "Can't you just tell us what's going on?"

"Not until Fate wakes up," the wolf familiar said stubbornly, folding her arms as she glared around.

"At least take a potion…" Yoko said, trying to hand Arf a vial of blue liquid. She simply glared.

"I'll live without it," she huffed. "Besides, I don't trust you all yet."

"Really," Soma said mildly. "If we'd wanted to hurt you or Fate, we would have done so already."

"THE OLD GUY TRIED TO BURN ME ALIVE!" Arf cried. "I'd rather not lose half my stomach to another one of your 'remedies'!"

"It worked, didn't it?" Julius said bluntly. "You would have died had I not cleansed your wound."

Before Arf could retaliate, a soft moan came from the girl beside her, causing everyone to look at Fate.

* * *

Slowly, Fate pulled her way out of the darkness that surrounded her. She was no stranger to unconsciousness,

Her first sensation was that she was laying on something soft, which meant that she must be with Arf in the apartment the pair had appropriated. She let out a small breath, if she was here, then Arf must have gotten her away.

'But how… she was wounded too…' Worried, Fate started trying to force herself back into the waking world.

"…think… coming to… Fate!" Finally, the blonde mage was able to open her eyes and was met by the sight of Arf, gazing worriedly down at her.

"Fate, you're alright!" Was that... the brunette mage… Nanoha? What was she doing here? And why was it so much brighter than normal?

"Glad to see you're still with us," another voice said, causing Fate to look around more closely. It seemed that she was not, in fact, back in the safe area, but in what looked like a living room, surrounded by a crowd of people, few of whom she'd seen before.

Panic shot through Fate, causing her to jerk up from the couch she was laying on. Unfortunately, her head started spinning at the sudden motion.

"Fate, be careful, you're still injured!" Nanoha said, kneeling on the ground next to Fate.

"I have to go…" Fate said immediately, searching for Bardiche. After a moment, she saw him leaning against the opposite wall, still in his Device Form. Fate briefly wondered if she'd be able to Blitz Action over to Bardiche and grab it before anyone was able to stop her, but the pounding in her skull quickly put an end to that line of thought.

"You can't go, Fate! You're still hurt!" Nanoha said immediately.

"Besides, we need to talk to you," the white haired man said as he made his way deeper into the room. "We need to know who you are and why you're searching for these Jewel Seeds."

Fate met his eyes coolly. So, this was to be an interrogation, was it? Well, he wasn't going to get anything from her. She wouldn't betray her mother.

It seemed the man could read the defiance on her face, as he raised a hand in a soothing gesture. "I'm not interested in a fight, Fate, we don't have to be enemies. Our ultimate goal is to get the Jewel Seeds out of Death's grasp, and you seem to know what you're doing. Any insight you could give would be very helpful."

'Fate… I think we should listen to them,' Arf said mentally.

'But Mother said…'

'You're Mother's not here! She dropped you on this planet and told you to get the job done! Fate, I say again, we don't stand a chance against Death without help, not if he can summon small armies at a whim. While I was injured, I caught a bit of that fight Soma and Yoko, the mage in white and the blonde respectively, had with the big one. It would have torn us apart. Fate, my job as your familiar is you keep you safe, and I can't do that if you insist on throwing us into situations that we have no hope of surviving.'

Fate remained silent for a long time, considering. The more she considered, the more reason told her that Arf was right. She would talk to mother, hopefully she would understand.

A brief pain flared through her, but Fate ignored it.

"I seek the Jewel Seeds on my mother's orders," Fate said finally. "She… needs them for something, and she sent me out to get them."

"But how did she know they'd been found. Such information wouldn't have gotten to the public yet." The Bureau mage put a hand to his chin, thinking. "Besides, what would she need Lost Logia for? Those things are dangerous."

"My mother knows what she's doing," Fate said immediately. "Other than that… I don't know how she knew, she just told me where the Jewel Seeds were and to go get them."

"That seems very irresponsible," Yoko said, folding her arms. "Really, what kind of mother sends her own young daughter out to do something dangerous like this?"

"Mother's sick!" Fate said instantly. "She'd have done it herself if she were well."

Before anyone else could say anything, a phone started ringing. Soma pulled it out and looked at the front for a moment before opening it an pushing several buttons, allowing a smooth, cultured voice to be heard throughout the room.

"I just heard the most interesting thing on the news," the person on the other end of the line said mildly. "Apparently, there are aliens doing battle in Uminari." The voice became much more serious. "Why have I not heard about this yet?"

"We were in the process of talking to one of the aliens," Soma said. "Fate's here with us, and she was telling us her side of the story."

"Really?" the phone said, sounding happier. "Well done, all of you. Is she there right now?"

"Yes," Fate said.

"Well, my name is Genya Arikado, and I'm the director of the Special Investigations Division. I'm sure Soma has handled the introductions on your end. Now, if you don't mind, would you repeat your story for me." Slowly, Fate did.

"Well, is there any way we can get in contact with your mother?" Arikado said once she had finished.

"I… don't know," Fate said. "I'm not supposed to be talking to you as it is…"

"It's important," Arikado said. "We need to have some way to get these Jewel Seeds off of Earth before Death gets his hands on them, and since Yuuno cannot contact the Bureau at this point, your mother may be the only option."

"Sir..." Yuuno said, his eyes wide. "You can't be considering…"

"I believe I know why Death wants these objects, and if I am right, and my train of logic continues to the only conclusion I can envision, _all of existence is_ _threatened_. Not just Earth, but everything, everywhere. Thus, we must find a way to get these objects off the planet, even if it means allying with someone we wouldn't wish to normally." After a long moment,, Arikado continued. "Fate, is there any way to contact your mother? I must know if her plans for the Jewel Seeds threaten existence as well."

"I'm… going to report to her tomorrow," Fate said.

"Excellent. Tell her to contact us, and we can work out a potential transfer. However, I do need to know what she plans on doing with the objects first. Can you give me any insight?"

Fate blinked. "I… really don't know. She said that she needs them to make everything better, but I don't think that's what you want."

There was a moment of silence before Arikado continued. "Well, I must speak with Soma privately for a moment. Once again, you have all done good work, and Fate, I await your mother's response." Soma nodded and made his way to a different room.

There was a long pause before Yoko spoke up. "Well, I think Fate should spend the night here rather than wander around after dark, but we are running a bit low on rooms…" Fate was about to say that she could handle herself, but Nanoha spoke first.

"Fate can stay with me!" the brunette girl said happily.

"That's not…" Fate tried to begin, only to be overcome by a wave of weariness. When had been the last time she had rested well, anyways? Her entire time on Earth, she had been on the knife's edge, constantly prepared for something to go wrong. It didn't take her long to realize that she didn't have the strength to argue, and she let the excited girl pull her up the stairs after she pulled Bardiche back and returned him to standby.

The room Nanoha showed her was spars, but functional. It might have been much smaller than the suite that she and Arf had borrowed for the duration of their mission on Earth, but it was adequate.

"You can use the bed, Fate, you need it more," Nanoha said, standing to one side. "There are some spare blankets in the closet for me to use, I'll be fine on the floor."

Fate once again looked at the brunette mage, the same question that had plagued her ever since they had met that evening once again bubbling to the top of her mind. Finally, she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Why are you treating me like this? We're enemies, only working together out of mutual convenience. If my mother refuses this Arikado's offer, I will fight you again. Why do you insist on treating me like we're friends?"

Nanoha blinked. "Fate… I never saw us as enemies," she said. "We're both searching for the same thing, but that doesn't mean we have to dislike each other, especially now." She cocked her head. "Do you really… think of me as the enemy?"

"I…" Fate started. "If Mother…."

"Please, Fate, I asked what _you_ thought, not what your mother might or might not think," Nanoha said. "You saved me from that monster, that's not something you do for an enemy."

Fate flinched slightly, she had forgotten about that. She hadn't been thinking in that moment, but still, she had put herself at risk to save Nanoha from harm.

"Please, Fate," Nanoha said. "Why can't we be friends?"

Fate realized she didn't have an answer for that.

Fortunately, Arf must have sensed her discomfort and came to her rescue. "Look, we're all tired, and Fate and I have to leave early tomorrow," she said. "Can we have this lovey-dovey talk some other time?"

"Oh, sorry!" Nanoha said, covering her mouth. "I was so excited to talk to you that I forgot! I'll be quiet now." With that, she retreated and started digging through the closet for her bedding.

'What a strange girl,' Fate though as she finally let her Barrier Jacket dispel.

* * *

Soma, meanwhile, was sitting at the table in the kitchen, rubbing his temple. He had given Arikado a more detailed account of what had happened, along with the fact that Death had gotten a Jewel Seed.

"This is troubling, but not catastrophic," Arikado said. "If my theory is correct, he will still need several more before he is able to fulfill his plan."

"What is your theory, anyways?" Soma asked.

"Mina."

"What!" Soma hissed, his eyes widening.

"She's your anchor, your lifeline. As Celia proved two years ago, if Mina is killed, your inner darkness will be unleashed. Death wants to replicate that, but he needs to get to her, which is quite difficult because of the powerful wards around Hakuba shrine. To breach them, he needs more power."

"The Jewel Seeds…" Soma breathed.

"Yes, and if you become the Dark Lord again, he will give you the Jewel Seeds, making you more powerful than any force on Earth can stop. And now that we know there are other worlds out there, your dark self will seek to destroy them as well." Arikado said. "Fortunately, now that we have predicted his plan, we can take precautions. I've already asked Mina to remain inside and I've placed guards, but it is vital that Death does not get too many Jewel Seeds. Fortunately, if Fate and her mother agree to work with us, we will be able to overcome him, since he can no longer rely on divide and conquer tactics."

"Then I pray that Fate's mother will see reason." Soma said.

"As do I, Soma. As do I." With that, Arikado hung up.

After a minute of staring at the phone, Soma dialed again. After two rings, the person on the other end picked up. "Hey, Mina," Soma said, a sad smile on his face.

AN: Well, it seems that everyone's allied against Death… or are they? I wonder if Precia will be rational about this whole business… who am I kidding, anyone who's watched Nanoha knows exactly what she's going to do : (

If you're curious, here are the mage rankings as I see them: (Edit: I messed up earlier, thank MangamanZX and Detective Ethan Redfield for correcting me)

Soma: S

Julius: S-

Yoko: AA+

Nanoha: AA

Fate: AA

Yuuno: AAA Defensive, C- Offensive

Death: S-


	5. Cry of the Beyond

AN: I own nothing and I'm not making any money off this or any other story. Warning: Certain elements of this chapter may be disturbing, so read at your own risk. (Nanoha fans will know exactly what I'm talking about.)

Review Response:

Rizaidym: The story will be Nano/Fate in the sense that they will become BFFs before anything else; they're both nine. I've also thought about the Dark Lord not necessarily being evil, but I think that's an idea for another story.

edboy4926: I'm glad you like it.

Nightrazer: It's easy for Nanoha and Fate to be cute, they just have to be themselves : )

MangamanZX: Again, thanks for the correction on the rankings.

Jouaint: I think there are several factors that allow Julius to be a lower rank. First, he's no longer in his prime, while Soma is, so that keeps him down. Also, I think that the Belmonts never had more power than Dracula, just better tactics and a weapon designed to defeat him. Soma's been able to take most of Dracula's power and use it more efficiently.

Maimakterion: Sorry, I don't have a beta for this story, and I've always had trouble with silly mistakes when it comes to writing. If you know someone who would be willing to help me, I'd really appreciate it.

Detective Ethan Redfield: Thanks for pointing that out, that makes sense. I was thinking about something that happens in the future.

Chapter 5: Cry of the Beyond

The next day found Nanoha, Yuuno, Yoko, Arf, and Fate standing atop a building near the center of Uminari. Fate hadn't told her new companions exactly why they were here, but she had insisted that this be the place.

"So, how long do you think you'll be gone?" Nanoha asked, trying not to sound too sad to see Fate go. Judging by the way Yoko covered a giggle, she must not have been very successful; but it seemed that Fate hadn't noticed anything.

"I don't know. I will return whenever Mother... releases me."

Something about the way Fate said that caused a chill to pass through Nanoha, but she pushed it down. "Be sure to let us know when you arrive, it's not safe for anyone to be traveling on their own around here, not with Death..."

"We'll see," Fate interrupted quietly. "Now, Arf and I must be going."

"Before you go, one last thing," Yoko said, reaching into her pocket. "In the interest of giving your mother a show of good faith, to help sooth any worries…" the witch pulled a single Jewel Seed from her pocket. "Arikado, Soma and I have agreed to give you one of the Jewel Seeds we caught, in addition to those that you retrieved yourself."

Fate stared at Yoko for a long minute, almost seeming to try and judge if she was being serious. "…Thank you…" she whispered, reaching out for the gem.

"We're all on the same side, Fate," Yoko said, reaching out and patting the younger blonde on the shoulder. "Now that we've gotten the misunderstandings behind us, I'm sure that everything will work out."

Fate nodded slowly before letting go of the Jewel Seed, allowing it to hover in place before it was absorbed into Bardiche, which was still in it's standby form on the back of her hand. "We'll see what happens," she said before closing her eyes. "Please stand back."

Yoko, Nanoha and Yuuno retreated to the edge of the roof, leaving Fate and Arf alone. Fate summoned Bardiche, planted it in the ground, and bowed her head. A moment later, a wide circle of yellow light formed.

"A long range transfer…" Yuuno whispered.

"Hey Yuuno, hypothetically, is there any way to track her?" Yoko asked.

"Yes, but that would take either a device designed for that sort of thing or an equivalent computer." Yuuno shrugged. "Either way, she could probably detect that we were doing it."

"I know," Yoko said as Fate finally vanished. "I wasn't suggesting that we actually did it, just curious."

Nanoha had been staring at the point where Fate had been while the others were talking. Somehow, she just couldn't shake off the feeling that something was going to go wrong, that somehow Fate wasn't going to be coming back... A chill wind passed over the rooftop, causing Nanoha to shiver despite the sun beating down.

Wait a minute…

"I sense it too…" Yoko said as Nanoha's head jerked around nervously. Yuuno and Nanoha pressed their backs together, their eyes scanning the surrounding buildings and sky.

"There!" Nanoha squeaked, pointing to the top of a neighboring tower's radio antenna, where Death floated. This was the first time that Nanoha had seen him in the light of day, and somehow he managed to look even more terrifying, despite the fact that he had not prepared his scythe and his skeletal shape was hidden by his black cloak.

"Stay back…" Yoko said, pulling out her wand. "Send out the call to Soma and…"

"Wait… he's not moving…" Yuuno said, glancing around nervously to make sure that there weren't any other enemies sneaking up on them.

Indeed, Death simply hovered in place, seeming to think. Finally, he vanished without a word, and the cold aura he exuded faded.

"Why'd he come here, just to leave?" Nanoha asked.

"I… don't know…" Yoko said. "Better let Soma know… just in case." Yuuno nodded, closing his eyes to use his telepathy to touch every member of the team.

Soma was standing on the prow of the small motorboat that he and Julius were using to get to the islands when the link was established. 'What's wrong?' he thought, sensing Yuuno's nerves jangling.

'Death was here.'

Soma's eyes widened, and he was about to jump off the boat and make his way back when he thought about what the Mid-Childan mage had actually said. 'Wait… was there? As in he's not anymore?'

'No, he just floated above a nearby building for a while before… disappearing.' Soma blinked, it was one thing for Death to avoid him; the dark angel knew Soma could beat him. But that he would flee from two children and Yoko…

'Wait… he knows where Fate left from!' Nanoha squeaked. 'If she arrives and none of us are around…'

'He could kill her before any of us could get there…' Soma finished, a chill passing through him. Though he barely knew the young mage, the though of someone so young falling victim to that monster was absolutely unacceptable. 'I had originally meant for the three of you to join us out here, but I think it best if you wait for Fate to return; make sure that no harm comes to her.'

'Will do. Be careful, Soma.' With that, Yuuno's voice faded, leaving Soma to his thoughts.

"The fog, it is not natural," Julius said grimly from his place at the rudder. "Dark forces are at work."

"I know," Soma said, his eyes trying to pierce the cloud. "I don't sense Death himself, but his minions are likely searching the area. Besides, he left the area that Fate left from and could be on his way here."

"If he is, then so be it," Julius said as they hit the fog barrier.

A moment later, hissing filled the air, and a pair of dark shapes dove from the mist. "Medusa heads," Soma said, rolling his eyes as he drew his pistol and shot both of them, causing them to squeal as they burst into flames and toppled into the water. "And not even the petrifying ones."

"Scouts, most likely," Julius said. "We must be cautions, the other monsters will know we are here now."

"Yeah," Soma said. "Still, we should stick to the plan." He pointed at a rough map of the island that had been cut down the middle by a line. "I'll take my half, you take yours, and we call the other if we find something or meet here if we don't, rinse and repeat for the other islands we get to." Julius nodded simply, jumping off the boat as it hit the beach and making his way inland.

Soma took his own path, and was soon met by several skeletons, which he dispatched with a single bullet each. Really, was this the best Death could come up with, even if it was just a scouting mission? He had command of all the forces of Hell, and he sent skeletons to look for the Jewel Seeds? Surely there had to be more… On the other side of the island, Julius was thinking along the same lines as Soma. However, whereas Soma was mildly disappointed by this lack of real resistance, Julius simply continued his work.

Several minutes passed with nothing but small groups of weak monsters, sometimes escorted by a more dangerous one like a beam skeleton or a were-creature. Still, they proved to be entirely ineffective against the two highly experienced warriors.

There were also countless medusa heads swooping around the shrouded island, far more than Soma had ever seen outside of Castlevania. Most demon summoners didn't bother with that particular creature: they were little more than an annoyance in anything but extremely large numbers, and if the dark practitioner had the kind of power to call up a numberless horde like that, they usually spent it on more immediately threatening creatures. Soma wouldn't have been surprised to see just a few: Julius was right when he said that they made good scouts, but for there to be this many…

Suddenly, Soma felt a massive flash of magic, and a birdlike squawk sounded. The three skeletons that he had been about to shoot jerked before immediately shambling in the direction of the noise. "There's one here," he muttered, dashing in the direction of the disturbance, not even bothering to pause and destroy the skeletons.

It took less than a minute for Soma to reach the sight of the Jewel Seed's awakening, but by that time a battle was already raging. In the center of the clearing was a gigantic bird, it's formally soft feathers replaced by razors and its toes by talons that would make any eagle jealous. Surrounding it were dozens of skeletons, zombies, and medusa heads, which were attacking without any regard for their own safety.

"Hope Julius knows what's going on," Soma muttered as he darted forward, emptying his clip into the nearest enemies before putting the pistol away and drawing Muramasa. He knew that he could defeat the skeletons in his own time, but if the Jewel Seed controlled bird decided to fly, it would be much more difficult to catch it, and thus he ignored the demonic forces that were not directly in his way as he made to destroy the gem's host.

Meanwhile, the bird seemed to tire of simply slicing up those skeletons that got too close, and it started flapping its wings, launching its sharp feathers so fast that Soma could barely see them. 'Zephyr!' he thought. The time demon didn't unleash his full power and stop time, merely slowed Soma's perception of it so that he could deflect those feathers that came his way. The other enemies were not so lucky, and many of those in front of the bird were shredded by flying feathers.

Unfortunately for the bird, this left it open to the other attackers; it shrieked in pain as no less than ten beam skeletons blasted it from behind while dozens of medusa heads slammed into in, ending their own lives to cause more damage with the flames of their deaths. A moment later, Soma arrived, Muramasa sliding through the hardened feathers and flesh of the possessed creature.

Red light started playing over the wounds, healing wounds that would have killed any creature not controlled by a Jewel Seed. Still, with Soma and the monsters continually re-opening the wounds, beast was effectively pinned down.

'Death must be on his way, I hope Julius shows up soon,' Soma thought as he dodged another volley of sharpened feathers.

His wish was granted a second later as a pair of thrown crosses boomeranged around the field, shattering anything they hit. Meanwhile, Julius himself briefly vanished from sight as he charged towards the bird, only to reappear behind it and scoring a deep wound with his whip. It took Soma a moment to realize that this injury wasn't closing.

"The Vampire Killer must be able to suppress the chaotic power of the Jewel that allows it to heal!" he shouted to Julius. "You focus on it, I'll deal with the monsters!"

"A more powerful one approaches!" Julius called back. "I believe it is Medusa herself! Be on your guard!" Soma blinked before his lips spread in a smile.

'So long as Death doesn't show up and use his Jewel Seed to corrupt her, we may have a new recruit,' he thought, causing the other souls to shift in excitement: it had been a long time since an entirely new soul had joined them.

As Julius continued his assault on the bird, his whip's flexibility allowing him to simultaneously destroy any monsters that came close to him, Soma turned his attention to the direction where the majority of the medusa heads seemed to be coming from. Several waves of floating heads later, Soma heard the sound of shattering branches and the hissing of a massive snake. Finally, he caught sight of the mother of all medusa heads.

True to the legends, she was somehow both hideous, yet still held the shadows of the beauty she had once had. Whereas the medusa heads had snarling, snakelike faces, Medusa's was quite human, aside from her fangs and the writhing snakes that made up her hair. She traveled not on legs, but on a massive yellow and green snake tail. As she caught sight of Soma, she paused for a slight second before baring her teeth and hissing at him, raising the sword and shield she wore on her human arms. In response, Soma raised his blade in a salute; his other hand grabbed the arm of a skeleton, ripped it off, and used it to crush the skull.

A long moment later, he dashed towards Medusa, who responded by unleashing a wave of heads. This did absolutely nothing to slow Soma, who sliced each of them out of the air before trying to slash the monster, only to be blocked by her shield. He ducked back in time to avoid her own blade before summoning Final Guard to block a blast of petrifying energy.

'Alastor, if you would cover my back, that would be nice.' he thought, summoning the cursed sword.

"By your Lordship's command," Alastor thought, spinning around to cut down a pair of zombies that tried to grab Soma from behind.

Another wave of medusa heads flew from their mother, only to be sliced apart by Muramasa. Medusa herself retreated behind her shield, raising her sword in preparation to counter-attack. Soma, however, had dealt with this kind of battle against Yuuno, so simply used his short-range teleport to blink behind her and deal a massive blow across her back.

Medusa screeched in pain before using her tail to toss Soma into the air and tried to petrify him again. Soma backflipped off midair to avoid the beam before directing his momentum into a downward kick right at the center of the wound he had dealt the snake. Any mortal creature, even most demons, would have had their spine shattered by a blow like this, but Medusa simply slashed at Soma's leg. He had already leapt away, however, tossing a puppet over her head before sending several fireballs at Medusa's back. As she turned to face him, he used his puppet to transfer behind her and aimed a slice at her neck.

Hissing in pain from her burns, Medusa still managed to bring her blade up to block Soma's sword before spinning, trying to smash him with her shield. She aimed too high, however, allowing Soma to roll underneath and ram Muramasa into her gut, catching the descending blade with a glove of Final Guard's energy. He then ripped the blade up, slicing through Medusa's ribs and out her shoulder. As she reeled, he spun and took her head off with a final slice.

All around the island, medusa heads shrieked in pain and fell from the sky. The other dark creatures also started to flail; clearly Medusa had been controlling them. Soma didn't immediately notice any of this, watching as a shining ball of blue light rose from the burning snake body.

"Come to me…" Soma said, raising his hand. A moment later, Medusa's soul flew to him and sunk into his chest.

'Master…' she whispered. 'Can you… forgive me…'

'Of course,' Persephone said warmly.

Soma quickly glanced over at Julius, who was darting around the injured bird, trying to get it to give up its Jewel Seed. 'Is Death coming?' he thought as he dashed forward to assist.

'I… don't know,' Medusa said. 'I informed him of the gem, but he did not answer.' Soma blinked at this; he would have expected Death to rush to the scene, if only in the hope that Soma and Julius would be too distracted with his many minions to stop him from grabbing the Jewel Seed.

Finally, the powerful bird fell, one of its wings torn off and the other badly bent. Julius leapt up on its back, wrapping the Vampire Killer around its neck and pulling its head back to expose its belly to Soma, who sliced it open and pulled the glowing gem out, leaving the battered bird to die.

"A shame Nanoha couldn't make it," Soma said, quickly picking up the shining gem.

"I am more curious why Death _didn't_ come," Julius said. "It is not in his nature to give up."

"I know," Soma said, looking up as the mist started to clear, finally allowing the bright sunlight through. "I can only think that he had something else he was doing… but what?"

* * *

Akinobu leaned back in his chair and briefly covered his face, sighing.

Ever since the appearance of another of these Jewel Seeds in the city last night, he and Yuriko had been sent back to the city records room to figure out just how it had escaped notice for so long on a crowded street. It hadn't taken long to come up with a likely reason: that area had been undergoing road repairs at around the time Yuuno said the Jewel Seeds had arrived on Earth: that one must have somehow fallen into a crack and been buried, only awakened when that Fate girl had done… whatever she had done. Now the pair were finding other spots that might have sheltered a Jewel Seed.

This was not the reason that Akinobu was sighing, however. He just couldn't stop thinking about what he had been told, that Soma was the reincarnation of the Lord of Darkness.

Akinobu's father had fought, and died, in the Demon Castle war of 1999, and Akinobu had joined the Special Investigations division specifically so he could honor his father's sacrifice. To think that his sacrifice, the sacrifice of all those that gave their lives, had been for nothing…

'It wasn't for nothing,' he tried to reassure himself. 'Soma isn't like Dracula, he's dedicated himself to stopping evil creatures…'

'But isn't that what he would say,' a quiet voice whispered in the back of Akinobu's mind. 'And does evil ever truly die?'

The agent felt a bit strange as he thought this, but he couldn't help but try to sooth his own concerns. 'Mr. Arikado wouldn't have let him join if he thought that he was a threat.'

'Perhaps he doesn't know,' the voice of paranoia… or was it simple caution, breathed. 'Or worse… perhaps he does know, and simply doesn't care of the potential dangers of knowingly putting the one with darkness' soul in close proximity to his servants. Even if he does not wish to return to darkness… well, they say that if someone stares into the abyss, the abyss stares back. Something to think about, anyways'

Akinobu did think about it, and the more he did, the more the feeling that had gnawed at him grew. Everything he had ever learned about darkness warned him that it was corruptive, that it had a will of its own that sought to drag those that used its power into madness and evil. Soma might seem like a nice, well-adjusted young man, but he admitted to wielding the souls of demons… could anyone do that and truly remain good?

He was so caught up in these thoughts that he almost didn't notice Yuriko glancing at him. He refocused his attention just in time to hear her: "You alright?"

"Yeah, sorry," he said, forcing his face into a smile. "I was just thinking."

"Oh," Yuriko said, "I was just wondering… does it seem cold in here to you?" Akinobu cocked his head slightly before shaking his head.

"It doesn't seem so," he said. "Probably just a draft from somewhere."

Yuriko nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're probably right…" she said. After a minute or two, she continued. "… I wonder how that Fate girl is doing?"

Akinobu smiled, feeling a strange sense of relief to not be talking about the temperature anymore. "I'm sure she's alright; her mother's probably berating her for letting her pride almost get her hurt."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Still, as the pair got back to work, Akinobu couldn't stop thinking about Soma, and what the future might hold for the supposedly redeemed Lord of Darkness.

* * *

_ CRACK_

The Garden of Time hovered in the dimensional void, completely isolated from any other world. Only those who knew its exact coordinates could hope to make it there, and there were only three living people who could claim that, and all three were currently present.

_ CRACK_

This meant that the Garden was normally a quiet place, a place where a scientist seeking solitude could carry out her experiments in peace, unwatched by the meddling Bureau. From this sanctuary, she could send out her young daughter to gather the materials she needed for her work.

_ CRACK_

From the outside, the sharp, jagged edges and spires that dotted the black material would be seen as menacing by most, something that should have earned the place a name like the Prison of Time or something equally grim. However, to those that did not care about such minor details, the Garden was perfect.

_CRACK_

The main hall of the Garden was a strange combination of beautiful, smooth floors that reflected the omnipresent purple light and rough, vine-covered pillars that looked about to collapse. At one end was a balcony that looked out on the undulating inter-dimensional space; while at the other end there was a massive set of double doors.

_CRACK_

Just outside these doors, a shape huddled against the wall, covering her furry ears as the sharp, ugly sounds continued, her pitiful whimpers barely audible. She winced as a new sound emanated from the room: the short but pained gasp of a young girl.

_CRACK_

The room that these sounds were coming from turned out to be a beautiful, circular throne room. An awe-inspiring play of light and shadows around the walls and alcoves gave a mysterious aura that only enhanced the room's beauty. All the light in the room was focused on a central circle, where Fate hung by her arms, her head bowed. Thin trickles of blood ran from a dozen cuts on her arms, legs, and torso, but aside from the one outcry, the mage remained silent.

"Three…" a cold, emotionless voice said quietly, causing the young girl to raise her eyes to the throne at the opposite side of the room from the main door. There sat a tall woman, wrapped in a black cloak and with a face shrouded by dark purple hair. "Just three? That is simply unacceptable, Fate."

"Yes…" the young blonde whispered, her eyes closing in contrition. "I am sorry…"

"But your failings run deeper than that, don't they?" the woman asked, rising to her feet. "If it were simply a matter of too few Jewel Seeds, I may have understood." Despite the thick carpet, the woman's boots made a harsh clicking noise as she crossed the distance between her chair and the bound mage before her. "But no, that is not all, is it? Fate, tell Mother what you have done."

"I… told others… of my mission…" Fate choked out.

"Yes, you did," the woman said, her eyes narrowed. "Fate… the daughter of Precia Testarossa, could not handle a world where magic is a weakened, shattered _deviation_ from normal society!" The woman's arm rose, revealing a long, shining purple whip. A moment later, Fate bit her lip hard enough to draw blood so that she wouldn't cry out again as another lash was added to her collection. "I am disappointed, Fate, so very, very disappointed."

"Yes… mother…" Fate whimpered.

"Fate, you must understand, those… _people_… are not your friends." Precia said, lowering her whip and cupping her daughters chin in her other hand, pulling it back up to look her in the eye. "They simply seek to drag you down to their level… to make you _weak_, like they are. Once you are weak, they will use you to gather the Jewel Seeds for _them _rather than your precious mother… and that would make me… so sad. You know this, don't you?"

"Yes…" Fate said, her red eyes shining with unshed tears.

"If you know this…" the tall woman said. "Then why did you _do it_!?" She wrenched her hand away from Fate's face, only to bring it back in a vicious slap that echoed throughout the entire Garden, causing Arf to flinch again.

"I was foolish… I understand now…" Fate said.

"That is good, I suppose," Precia said, studying Fate. "So long as you realize your own failings, you will never repeat them, will you Fate? You will never disappoint your mother again… because if you do…" The whip raised, and Fate braced herself.

Arf toppled onto her side as Fate's cries intermingled with the cracks of the whip, the pain of her punishment finally overcoming the barriers born of many similar moments. 'Why…' the familiar thought. 'Why did we come back here… why doesn't Fate fight back…'

Finally, after what felt like hours for the two victims; one within the room and one without, the whip fell for the final time.

"Now, Fate," Precia said, the whip returning to its primary form: a long, beautiful staff, "You are a kind girl, so it pains me to ask this of you, but when those that would seek to drag you down try again… you must destroy them, without fail and without mercy. Only then can you make me proud to call you my daughter… only then can our mission be complete."

The binds that had held Fate up shattered at allowed the young mage to fall to the ground, where she lay for several painful seconds before pushing herself back to her feet. "Yes. I'll be going now, Mother," she said.

"Good. I need to go and rest for a while, so you must leave on your own." Precia said, turning on her heel and making her way through a door hidden in one of the alcoves, leaving the bloodied mage to make her own way out of the throne room. She pushed weakly on the massive doors, only managing to budge them by throwing her full weight against it, which left her unbalanced, able only to topple into Arf's arms.

"Fate…" the familiar whined, cradling her young mage.

"Arf… we need to get going…" Fate said, trying to pull herself up on one of the pillars.

"You shouldn't be going anywhere!" Arf cried, holding Fate down. "You're bleeding… you're injured… you need to rest…"

"Mother ordered us to leave, Arf," Fate said. "I'll… be fine." Arf had never heard a more blatant lie in her life, but Fate's eyes stopped her from voicing her concerns.

"At least let me handle the Transfer," Arf said. Fate looked like she was about to disagree, but a flash of pain crossed her face and she nodded, squeezing her eyes shut.

Arf made her way to the transfer balcony as quickly as she could without further aggravating Fate's injuries. Once there, she quickly started channeling her mana through the boosters set into the ancient material, lighting the whole area up with orange light for a few seconds before the pair vanished.

Fate had predicted that her mother would probably refuse the deal that had been offered, no matter how beneficial it would be. Thus, she had not taken her escorts anywhere near the hideout, meaning that there was no one around when Arf appeared on the rooftop.

Of course, this meant that, when Fate slumped against Arf with a gasp, there was no one around to help.

"Fate!" Arf gasped, berating herself as she remembered one of the facts of being a Familiar: she used her master's mana to cast spells, and with Fate as weakened as she was she simply couldn't afford to lose that energy. Silently cursing Precia, Arf picked Fate up and carried her inside. Once Fate was safe on the couch, Arf dashed into the bathroom to grab the medical gel, praying that it would be enough.

As she gently worked the substance into one of the deeper lash wounds, she almost didn't notice the chill permeating the room.

"That won't help much,"

Arf cursed as she leapt to her feet and spun around. There, standing in the shadows of the room, was Death, his arms folded in his sleeves.

"How did you…" Arf muttered, desperately preparing several blasts of magic, even though she knew it would be hopeless; even at her best, she was just no match for Death, and she would have to defend Fate…

"I have my methods," Death said coldly, drifting forward slightly. "You have no hope to stop me, but I don't particularly wish for her death at the moment."

"What do you mean by that?" Arf asked.

"She has nothing I want," Death said. "And if I waste time studying her admittedly interesting soul, I may miss my chance to retrieve the gems. However, I would rather kill her now than have her disrupt my plans later. It's up to you to convince me not to end her life." Arf just stared at him, barely able to believe what he was saying. When Arf didn't speak immediately, Death continued. "I am curious, however, why you did not return to your allies, I would not have been able to pursue."

"Because her mother's an idiot!" Arf screamed as something snapped inside her. "She ordered Fate not to go back!"

A long moment of silence passed before Death spoke again. "That is… unfortunate, but still workable. Would you like to save your master's life?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked slowly, letting the magic she had prepared fade from sight. "What… do you want?"

"The objects, of course," Death said. "If you agree to give me those gems that your master gathers, then I will not end her life this night, nor will I attack her so long as our bargain stands.

Arf's eyes widened at just what Death was asking of her. "You're asking me to betray Fate… give you Jewel Seeds…"

"You care nothing for the gems, do you?" Death interrupted. "All you want is for your master to be safe. Besides, if you don't, these Jewel Seeds will end up in the hands of Fate's mother… do you really thing she _deserves_ them?" He pulled his hands out of his sleeves, and one of them held a roll of a strange, papery substance as well as a sharp, black quill. "If you agree to my bargain, simply sign at the bottom. If not… I have places I need to be soon, so if you refuse, tell me so we can get our short and one sided battle over with." With that, he placed the paper and quill on the table next to the couch and retreated back into the shadows of the room.

Arf slowly picked up the paper. It was short and to the point.

_By signing this contract, I swear that, when ordered by Death, I will immediately remove any Jewel Seeds from the possession of my master, Fate Testarossa, and deliver them to Death. Furthermore, I swear that I will in no way hamper Fate Testarossa from gathering the Jewel Seeds that I will hand over upon command, nor will I inform anyone of the bargain I have made. In return, Death will not only spare Fate Testarossa's life this night, but will also avoid attacks upon her person so long as this contract stays in effect. Should I break this agreement, my soul is forfeit, and any protection Fate Testarossa has will be lost._

Below was a single line.

"Four minutes," Death said from behind her. Arf glared at him for a moment before looking back at the paper. On the one hand, Death was right that Arf didn't care one bit about the Jewel Seeds, and she certainly had no love for Precia. Still, to knowingly agree to not only betray Fate, but to do so on the command of a being every bit as vile as the one she was denying…

"Three minutes."

Arf came to a decision "Damn you," she muttered, picking up the quill and writing her name on the line in a reddish ink…

Pain wracked the back of her left hand, and when she looked at it she saw her own name written there, as if carved by a scalpel. It wasn't much of a jump to realize what had happened.

"Thank you for seeing it my way," Death said, summoning the paper. "Until we meet again." With that, he vanished, leaving Arf staring at the wall for a long minute before turning slowly to continue rubbing gel on Fate's whip marks, desperately telling herself that she had done the right thing, even though the words sounded hollow.

* * *

"Fate should have been back by now," Nanoha said, not looking up from the cup of tea she had been staring into for the past hour, long after it had gone cold.

"She's probably just resting," Yoko said soothingly. "Yuuno said that these long range teleports were very tiring." The young alien nodded before turning his attention back to the roof.

Nanoha, Yuuno, and Yoko had only left the roof once at noon to get some lunch, otherwise waiting in the hope of being nearby when Fate returned, so that Death couldn't get to her.

They had waited, and waited, and the sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon, and there was still no sign of the blonde mage.

"But she seemed fine when she left," Nanoha said. "Besides, wouldn't she have least called us to tell us she wasn't coming?" She glanced at Yuuno. "She can do that, right?"

"Well, if her mother has an inter-dimensional booster system, then yes, she would be able to call, but those aren't exactly cheap… but neither is a fully customized device like Bardiche," Yuuno said. "That she hasn't sent a message…" he glanced at Yoko as he said this, who furrowed her brow. There weren't many reasons that there hadn't been any word from Fate, and few of those reasons were good.

"What?" Nanoha said. "What are you saying?"

Yoko smiled sadly: for all her skill and power, Nanoha was still a little girl at heart. "I still think that she's just tired, and that her mother's keeping her at home for a while. If that's the case, the she probably won't be back until tomorrow."

Nanoha nodded, absentmindedly taking a sip of her tea, only to gag on the cold liquid. Yoko couldn't help but laugh a little at the face the younger magic user made. "Here, let me have that," she said. A few minutes of careful application of fire magic later, she handed the now warm tea back "Shame to let that go to waste."

"Sorry," Nanoha said. "I was just worried about Fate."

"We all are, Nanoha," Yuuno said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Really, I'm sure she's fine."

"I hope so," Nanoha whispered, looking around as if expecting the young blonde to pop up.

A minute of silence passed before Yuuno tilted his head, clearly listening to someone telepathically. "Soma's wondering if Fate's come back yet," he said. Yoko sighed and allowed Nanoha to help her link into the conversation. Everyone had been trying to learn telepathy, but so far only Soma had made enough progress to attempt to initiate a link with other people beyond visible distance, and even those were only strong enough to get Yuuno's attention so he could make a more stable one.

'…be dark soon,' Soma was saying. 'If Fate isn't back yet, I think you should return to the safe house. Julius has agreed to keep watch for Fate.' Nanoha looked like she was about to argue, but was cut off when her stomach picked that moment to express its hunger.

'Alright,' she said. 'We'll head back as soon as Mr. Julius gets here.'

"I am here," the vampire hunter said as he stepped out onto the roof. Yuuno and Nanoha jerked, they clearly hadn't heard him coming. Julius seemed to notice this as his frown deepened. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings; not all dark creatures make their presence known as readily as Death does."

"Yes," Nanoha said sheepishly. "Well, I guess we should get going. Thanks for looking out for Fate, Mr. Julius." Julius nodded sharply before standing aside to let the other three file out. They flagged down a cab, since there was still too much light out to fly without attracting attention. Throughout the trip, Yoko kept an eye on Nanoha, who still seemed worried despite the comforting words Yoko and Yuuno had given her.

Yoko suppressed a sigh; she couldn't help but share the young girl's fears. Fate had seemed… quite uncertain that Arikado's peace offering would be accepted by her mother, and had made it clear that she would follow her mother's wishes, no matter how foolish or what trouble would come of them. Fate hadn't said a lot during her time at the safe house, but Yoko couldn't help but feel a bit protective of her, despite the fact that she was a fairly powerful and talented magic user. She didn't want to fight the poor girl.

Still, there was nothing to do but keep searching for Jewel Seeds and pray that Fate's mother saw reason.

* * *

Nanoha sighed as she stared at her breakfast. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, instead staring at Raising Heart and hoping that the device would suddenly tell her that Fate had made it back safely. It hadn't been until almost one that she had finally drifted off, leaving her a bit groggy.

She twitched as a soft hand started gently rubbing her shoulder, and she looked up to see her mother smiling softly at her.

"I'm sure she's fine, sweetie," she said. Nanoha nodded slightly; although she couldn't shake the feeling of dread whenever she thought of all the terrible things that could have happened to Fate, she didn't want to worry her mother too much.

Soma, who had apparently just returned from watching for Fate a few hours ago, finished his coffee and stood up. "Alright, I know we're all worried about Fate, but today we have to go back to focusing on the Jewel Seeds." Nanoha opened her mouth to interrupt, but Soma predicted what she was going to say and continued. "Hammer will be keeping an eye on the area, and he'll let us know if something happens, but if we continue to hold back, Death may start finding more Jewel Seeds."

Nanoha could think of no argument against that, and after a moment of silence Soma nodded towards the map that he had brought out. "Julius and I were able to clear out most of these islands, and Julius will finish up today." The older vampire hunter nodded. "Akinobu and Yuriko have found several places in the city where Jewel Seeds might have escaped notice, so I'll be checking those. That leaves Yoko, Nanoha, and Yuuno to continue clearing this area out here."

"Be careful," Julius said. "Death has started summoning scouts, so you might meet resistance."

Yoko nodded. "That's what these are for," she said, holding up several bracelets inscribed with glyphs. "I remember what you said last night; these will vibrate if anything dark approaches. That'll stop them from ambushing us."

"Good idea," Soma said. "Well, we all have our missions, let's go."

Half an hour later, Nanoha was flying with Yoko and Yuuno over the mountains, actually not that far from where she and Soma had first met. So far, they hadn't found anything of interest, either Death's forces or Jewel Seeds.

Nanoha knew she really did have to focus on finding the gems, but she just couldn't get Fate out of her mind for longer than a few minutes.

'Yuuno?' she thought finally.

'Yes, Nanoha?' the shapeshifter thought back.

'What happens if Fate's mother doesn't let her work with us?' Nanoha asked. 'Will we… will we have to hurt her?'

Yuuno sighed mentally. 'I hope not, Nanoha,' he said. 'Both you and I have abilities that can stop her without causing permanent damage, but we're only really a match for her right now. Yoko and the others… they're used to fighting against demons, things that no one cares if they kill. Even when they fight people, they are usually much weaker than Fate. Not to mention that Death will be hovering around, probably waiting to…' Nanoha flinched at the direction Yuuno's thoughts were taking. The boy must have noticed this, since he drifted closer. 'I'm sorry, Nanoha,' he thought soothingly. 'Really, she's probably fine. Soma offered her a great deal, much better than the Bureau would have liked us to…' He grimaced slightly, causing Nanoha to reach out and place a hand on his shoulder.

'Don't worry, we'll be there for you…'

Before she could continue, Yoko came up short, her eyes flicking around the area. It took Nanoha a second to recognize the odd feeling of the detector bracelet Yoko had made vibrating against her wrist.

"They're coming!" Yoko called, raising her wand. Nanoha and Yuuno darted over to float near her, forming a triangle. A moment later, several large, winged beasts burst from the trees below the flying mages, clutching spears. "Gargoyles! Careful, they can throw those pretty hard!"

"**Master. Divine Shooter**." Raising Heart said calmly.

"Yeah, Divine Shooter!" Nanoha said, forming six balls of pink light. "Shoot!"

Six gargoyles fell from the sky, blasted by powerful balls of light. Several more were grabbed by green binds from Yuuno, which held them steady for Yoko to impale them with massive, icy javelins. The demons retaliated by launching a volley of spears, but gravity and Yuuno's shield prevented any injury from coming to the humans. Before long, the gargoyles stopped coming.

"They'll know we're here," Yuuno said warily.

"Let Soma know that we've made contact, but that we're alright," Yoko said as she looked around to make sure that nothing else was approaching. Yuuno nodded before tilting his head. A moment later, he spoke up. "Soma said things are going well on his end, and asked me to remind you that if we need him he can get to us within a few minutes."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Nanoha said.

"I agree," Yoko said. "Come on, if Death's troops are here, there's probably something of interest. Be on your guard." With that, the trio continued flying.

Every now and then, a few more gargoyles would rise to attack them, sometimes accompanied by a flying woman wearing armor and carrying a sword. At first, Nanoha had wondered why beings that looked like angels were flying with demons, but Yoko told her that these were Valkyrie that had been captured and corrupted by darkness. "You're doing them a favor, once their body is destroyed they can retreat back to their true realm." Still, Nanoha couldn't help but flinch every time one screamed, they sounded so sad.

Eventually, the trio reached the top of the mountain, where Nanoha felt a familiar pulse of magic. It was a Jewel Seed, though thankfully it seemed too weak to have awakened yet.

"I feel it to," Yuuno said.

Nanoha closed her eyes for a moment. "Raising Heart, Area Search!" she whispered, raising her staff above her head as a pink circle of light formed beneath her feet.

"**Yes, my Master. Area Search**."

Almost a dozen balls of pink light shot away from Nanoha, washing over the mountain. It only took the spell a minute to locate the Jewel Seed, about half a mile away on the opposite side of the mountain. "There it is!" Nanoha called, pointing.

"The demons will likely have sensed that spell, and will start searching harder!" Yoko called back, urging her broom onwards. "Still, if we hurry, we can get there first!"

As the group flew, Yuuno touched the others telepathically, 'This Jewel Seeds… It's absorbing the power around it, and is starting to activate on its own! We should still have time, but we need to…' Suddenly, a spear of light rose from the place where the Jewel Seed lay, forcing Nanoha to look away for a second.

'Go!' Yoko thought. 'You two are faster than me, get over there now! I'll catch up!' Neither Nanoha nor Yuuno took the time to disagree, they were already dashing, a blur of green and pink light to anyone who might have looked their way.

They arrived in time to see the Jewel Seed rising from the crater its activation had formed. Fortunately, there weren't any demons in the immediate area, so Nanoha could transform Raising Heart into the specialized Sealing Form without risking attack, especially since Yuuno was covering her back.

"**Jewel Seed. Serial V. Sealing**." Raising Heart said as a blast of pink light overwhelmed the dangerous gem, battering it into submission.

"Right," Yuuno said, glancing over Nanoha's shoulder as the gem dropped back to the ground. "Grab it so we can get out of here before…"

Nanoha spun around as wings started flapping behind her. Hovering around were almost a dozen Valkyries, lead by one that seemed… darker, than the others. It's wings were stained with blood, and rather than a shining sword it carried a dark grey lance. It's eyes shone with cruelty as it raised its weapon, preparing to attack.

Suddenly, several crackling balls of holy lightning fell from the sky, causing several of the Valkyrie to disintegrate. A moment later, Yoko dropped from the sky, forming several more balls of lightning. The red Valkyrie dashed towards her, only to be grabbed by several of Yuuno's binds and blasted by a Divine Buster from Nanoha. The rest of the flying women darted towards Nanoha, who was forced to dart back into the air to avoid them. She quickly started flying around the clearing, working together with Yoko to blast the Valkyries that were attacking.

"Is that all of them?" Nanoha asked, looking around as the vibrations in her bracelet stopped.

"It seems so…" Yoko said from behind Nanoha. "But… there should be mo…"

Yoko's words ended in a sudden gasp, and Nanoha and Yuuno spun around. Yoko was hovering in mid air, and for a moment it looked like nothing was wrong. However, Nanoha realized that there was a glowing yellow blade sticking out of her chest. Behind her hovered a young blonde clad in dark…

"FATE?!" Nanoha cried as the other mage pulled Bardiche's scythe blade out of Yoko, leaving the older woman to topple off her broom. Fortunately, Yuuno was able to catch her before she hit the ground. "What… Why did you do that?"

"She was in the way," the other girl said quietly… emotionlessly. "My mother ordered me to take the Jewel Seeds, and that is what I will do." She pointed her device at Nanoha. "If you try to stop me, I will do the same to you."

"But… but… but…" Nanoha babbled, hardly able to believe what she was hearing. "I thought…"

"Last warning. Stand aside," Fate said.

"No! Fate we're both trying to stop Death! We're on the same…"

Fate suddenly blurred, and Nanoha was barely able to bring up a shield in time to block her attack. "We are not on the same side," she said simply. "We are enemies."

"But Fate! I don't want to be your enemy!" Nanoha cried as she darted backwards in midair to avoid another strike.

'Nanoha!' Yuuno cried from his position near Yoko. 'We have to end this fast! Death must know what's going on!' Nanoha risked a quick glance over and saw Fate's familiar Arf standing nearby, seeming to be keeping an eye on Yuuno but making no move to attack.

'Call Soma!' Nanoha said, turning her attention back to Fate as she blocked another blow. 'We need his help!'

'I already did!'

Meanwhile, in the city, Soma had just finished scanning one of the old road construction sites when Yuuno's call came. He immediately darted into a nearby alleyway, weaving Bat Company and Black Panther together so that he would be able to fly at the speeds he would need to if he hoped to reach the others in time.

'What is Fate thinking?' he though as he shot through the air. 'She can't hope to triumph against both us and Death!'

As he left the city behind and started flying over the forest, a chill started permeating his body, a very familiar chill.

"Hello, young Master," Death called as he appeared in front of Soma, his scythe out and ready.

"Death…" Soma said as he took his own form. "What's your game?"

"I know where you are bound, and I cannot allow you to go on." Several sickles appeared and shot at Soma.

"Medusa," Soma said, summoning his new soul. A moment later, an insubstantial snake tail wrapped around his chest as Medusa's human form settled itself on his shoulder, firing a volley of Medusa Heads at the incoming sickles, shattering them. "You know you cannot defeat me, Death," he called, drawing Muramasa.

"Of course," Death said. "And I do not plan to. I merely need to slow you down." He laughed quietly as he started circling Soma. "It is surprising how… useful… people can be when properly motivated."

Soma paled. "What have you done to her?" he hissed, shooting forward to take a slash at the dark figure, who blocked with his scythe.

"I did not have to do anything," he said mockingly, taking a slash at Soma, which was easily dodged. "But to say more would be… problematic."

"Nothing you've done will matter if I kill you here!" Soma snarled, vanishing and taking a slash at Death's back, cutting through the cloth of his robe. 'Yuuno, Nanoha, Death and I are fighting here, so you won't have to face him for now, but you have to hurry!'

Back in the clearing, Nanoha was still fighting with Fate. "Fate! Please don't do this!" she cried. "We shared a room… we were friends! Surely that meant something to you!"

Fate's eyes narrowed as they clashed again. "We were never friends, and we never will be!" she snapped, showing real emotion for the first time. "You and your _friends_ were simply trying to use me to gather the Jewel Seeds for you! Your offer was nothing be a disguise for that." She drove Bardiche into Nanoha's shield again, hard enough to drive them both to the ground. "No, we are enemies, and we always will be."

"That's not true, Fate!" Nanoha cried, feeling a prickle in the back of her eyes at Fate's harsh words. "I… I want to help you!"

"You can never help me," Fate said coldly, putting more pressure behind her weapon. "Just stay out of my way, or else."

Nanoha's shield flickered out, but she was able to dodge. Still, Fate pursued, using her incredible speed to keep Nanoha off balance. Finally, Nanoha realized she had to engage in a melee battle rather than constantly trying to get the distance she would need to properly use her ranged attacks.

As Fate's next blow fell, Nanoha hooked Raising Heart's head around Bardiche, steering the scythe blade away from her. This motion caused the two girl's shoulders to slam into each other, and Nanoha grimaced in mild discomfort.

Fate, however, let out a sudden gasp of real pain.

"Fate?" Nanoha asked, turning to look at the other girl, her grip on Raising Heart lessening ever so slightly.

It was too much. Fate gritted her teeth and tore Bardiche from Raising Heart's grip before spinning it in her grip to smash the blade into Nanoha's chest.

Somehow, the power of this blow wasn't enough to knock Nanoha out completely; she was still conscious when she hit the ground ten feet below. She stared up as Fate landed nearby, and could do nothing but wait for the knockout blow to fall.

Surprisingly, however, Fate simply pointed Bardiche at the Jewel Seed, summoned it, and turned to walk away. "What happened today was a warning," she said, her voice once again a strict monotone. "If you continue to oppose me, I will not hesitate to destroy you." With that, she flew away, followed by Arf, who glanced back once, but didn't say a word.

"Nanoha!" Yuuno called. "Are you alright? Nanoha?!"

Slowly, the brunette was able to push herself to her knees and crawl towards the others. "Why…" she whispered. "Why did this… have to happen…"

Several miles away, Death pulled back from his battle with Soma. His cloak was ripped in several places, revealing the bleached bones that made up his body. Still, his empty eyes seemed to show mirth.

"It is over," he said quietly. "You may proceed." With that, he vanished without a trace. Soma didn't bother to try and track where he was going; he just turned and continued towards the other's location with all speed. 'Yuuno, are they all right?' he asked desperately.

'They're alive,' Yuuno said. 'But… Fate got the Jewel Seed… and Nanoha…' Soma's blood chilled as he pushed himself even harder.

A tense minute later, Soma skidded to a halt in the center of the clearing, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of trouble. All he found were three forms huddled against a tree, behind Yuuno's signature green shield.

"Yoko! Nanoha!" Soma shouted, dashing over. Yoko's eyes were wide and unmoving, and for a second he feared that she had died before he saw the shallow breaths her body was making.

Yuuno was gently hugging Nanoha, whose face was buried into his shoulder as she shuddered with her sobs.

* * *

Arf watched as Fate ran her hand along Bardiche's axe head, her brow furrowed in thought. Ever since they had taken the Jewel Seed and left Nanoha lying on the ground, Fate hadn't spoken a single word.

"Fate…" Arf started, only to trail off as she realized that Fate wasn't even recognizing her voice. Arf slumped back, sighing. 'Well, next time might work. Eighth time's the charm, right?'

Suddenly, Fate pushed Bardiche back into its place on the back of her glove with unusual force before doing something she had never done before: getting up and starting to pace. Arf was about to try to talk to her master again when the blonde turned to face her.

"Why does it hurt, Arf?" she asked.

"Why does what hurt, Fate?" Arf asked, though she thought she already knew the answer.

Fate sighed as she made her way back to the couch, sitting down and putting her face in her hands. "What I said to Nano… that girl. It was _all true_, every word of it. I did her a _favor _by making it clear where I stood, rather than using her naïveté to manipulate her." Arf privately thought that Fate was far too honest a girl to ever successfully trick someone like that, but decided not to voice this. Even if any of her thoughts had appeared on her face, Fate didn't notice, since she was still covering her eyes with her hands. "Why did it hurt, Arf? _Why does it still hurt_?"

'Because it was all lies,' Arf thought sadly. Though Fate may never admit it, it was clear to Arf that, deep down, she did want to be friends with Nanoha. The other girl was obviously enamored with Fate, and had shown her more affection in a few hours than Precia had done in _years_. Fate had to see that; she wasn't stupid, just blinded by loyalty. Arf recognized a breaking point when she saw one. In her heart of hearts, Fate had to be questioning her mother's orders, wondering if there was another way… Perhaps, if she could be made to see that she really did like Nanoha, really didn't want to fight, she could be convinced to finally break ties with that evil woman…

Smiling Arf opened her mouth to speak her mind…

…only for a chill to pass through her, starting at her hand. Arf's eyes widened as her lips formed words… words that she was not commanding them to.

"Sometimes, the truth hurts, Fate," Arf's body said, sounding loving and sympathetic. "But it's for the best. Besides, you don't need them, you've got me and you've got Bardiche. We're behind you all the way."

Fate looked up, the worry and pain leaving her face. "Thank you, Arf," she whispered, reaching up and running her hands through Arf's hair and ears. "You're right, everything will work out, so long as we get the Jewel Seeds for Mother. She'll make everything better." Fate slowly rose, stretching. "I… suppose I should get some sleep. You coming?"

"No…" Arf said, somehow stopping her voice from shaking as it was returned to her control. "I'll… stay up for a while, keep watch. Sleep well."

"I will, Arf," Fate said before making her way slowly to the bedroom.

Arf waited ten minutes before walking mechanically up to the roof, where she was unsurprised to see Death waiting.

"What did you do?" Arf snarled, causing the skeletal figure to laugh quietly.

"Surely you're memory is not so deficient that you forgot your oath, and the consequences of breaking it," he said, pulling the parchment out from his black sleeve. "_'Furthermore, I swear that I will in no way hamper Fate Testarossa from gathering the Jewel Seeds that I will hand over upon command_,'" he quoted. "You're fortunate that I very much want the two of you alive for now, or else I would have simply taken your soul for your defiance, then killed your precious master." He slipped the parchment away as he looked at the seething familiar. "I have come too far to be denied now, creature. If you remember that, then perhaps my own master will be merciful when he returns to this world in all his dark glory."

With these mocking words, the dark angel vanished, leaving Arf alone. For the longest time, she simply stood on the roof, hating Death, hating Precia, hating the planet, hating the stupid Jewel Seeds.

But most of all, she hated herself.

_AN: I'm really sorry this took so long, I just haven't felt like writing much recently._


	6. The Bloodstained Scythe

AN: I own nothing and I'm not making any money off this or any other story.

PS: I've changed a few small things in Chapter 2 so that events in this chapter make more sense, so you might want to reread that chapter. Sorry.

Review Response:

Nightrazer: Well, they're caught between the lunatic that is Precia and the evil force of Death, and Fate's too loyal to seek help from the people who are desperately trying to get through to her.

edboy4926: Moving up from good to awesome : )

MangamanZX: To be fair, it was less of "Hey, I'll do this amazing thing for you if you give me your immortal soul" and more "Do this or I'll kill you and your master whom you love more than life itself, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Jouaint: I'm glad you like the story.

SageofAges729: I was really happy when I saw the story on TV Tropes, I go there all the time. And you're meant to hate Precia, I certainly do. Hope you continue reading the story.

Chapter 6: The Bloodstained Scythe

Soma had been in some rough spots throughout his time as a member of the Special Investigations team. However, never since he thought he had seen Mina slaughtered before his eyes by Celia had he felt as helpless as he did while carrying Yoko and Nanoha. Yoko was bad enough: lying limp in his arms with only the faint rise and fall of her chest to show that she was even alive. Nanoha was worse: she was still crying into his shoulder as she hung on with what little strength she had left. To hear such sounds of pain and sorrow from a girl that was normally so cheerful was gut wrenching, and a part of him couldn't help but feel a terrible rage at the other mage who had done this; no matter the fact that he did not completely understand why this had happened. Still, he couldn't do anything but push forward and get the two injuries to safety.

He had called ahead for Hammer to meet them on the road into Uminari with a car, and as soon as he had safely tucked the two in with Yuuno along to provide protection, he leapt back into the air so as to keep anything from getting close enough to endanger the makeshift ambulance. He saw Death once, hovering in the distance, but the dark angel seemed content with the damage he had already cause and simply vanished.

Seeing him, however, got Soma thinking: why had he stopped Soma from getting to Fate and Nanoha's fight rather than rush there himself to try and either kill some of his enemies or grab the Jewel Seed that might have been left unattended during the battle? The first and most disturbing answer that Soma thought of was the he and Fate had somehow struck a bargain, but he convinced himself that wasn't very likely. If Fate had been willing to ally with anyone, it would have been the group that had shown the she could trust them, not only by protecting her when she was injured but also by giving her a Jewel Seed. Death had already tried to kill her several times; surely she wasn't foolish enough to turn to him for help.

'What I don't understand is why she didn't accept your bargain,' Persephone thought worriedly. 'Really, you offered to give her exactly what she wanted! Why did she turn on you… She doesn't seem the type'

'I don't know, Persephone,' Soma though. 'I just don't know.'

'Well, she did say she didn't consider it her decision,' another soul, the mirror demon Paranoia, thought. 'She owes her allegiance to her mother, so it stands to reason that it was she that made the decision for Fate to oppose us,'

Soma nodded slowly, but that raised it's own battery of questions. Fate had to have told her mother that she was outnumbered and outmatched on Earth, and that Arikado had offered her what she was after to keep them out of Death's hands. Did the mysterious mother simply not trust them to fulfill their end of the bargain, or was her reason for needing the Jewel Seeds so terrible that she didn't believe they would allow her to have them once they knew about it? Neither of these options were very comforting.

He shook these thoughts out of his mind as he saw the car reach the base. By the time he had dropped down to the ground, Hammer had already pulled Yoko out of the back and was carrying her inside, while Nanoha's parents had come out to see what had happened to their daughter.

"What happened?" Mr. Takamachi said as his wife whispered soothingly into the young girl's ear.

"It seems that Fate's mother has refused our offer," Soma said. "More than that, I cannot say until I have heard Yoko and Nanoha's testimony as to what Fate might have said." The older man looked for a moment like he had something to say, but seemed to decide that now was not the place or time. Instead, he turned to follow the others into the living room, where the two stunned magic users were laying.

Yuuno was kneeling in front of the unconscious witch, a green magic circle slowly spinning beneath him as healing energy spread across her. Finally, after several tense minutes, her eyes flickered open and she groaned.

What happened?" she asked, allowing Hammer to help her to a sitting position as Yuuno scuttled over to help Nanoha. "Is Nanoha…"

"She'll be alright," Soma said soothingly as he crouched down near his friend. "What about you, any other injuries?"

"No, nothing," Yoko said. "But I don't understand… any demon should have been picked up by my amulet… and why am I not dead…"

Soma sighed. "It wasn't a demon that did this to you… it was Fate." Yoko gasped.

"Fate! But how… why…"

"We don't know," Soma said, glancing over to see how Yuuno was coming with Nanoha. The little mage was still curled up in her mother's arms, her face buried in her shoulder, and Soma felt a wave of shame that he had put her in a position where this had happened to her. For all her power, she was still a child; could he really ask her to do this?

"I've purged all the stun energy…" Yuuno said. "And Fate didn't do any physical damage to either of them… She was holding back."

This confused Soma even more. Fate had essential declared war on them; why had she not injured or, heaven forbid, killed either Nanoha or Yoko? That would have made her position much easier.

"Nanoha, what happened?" Mr. Takamachi asked, gently rubbing his daughter's head. The girl didn't seem to be in any mood to answer, however, as she continued to cry quietly.

"Miyuki, would you go make some tea please," Mrs. Takamachi said, glancing at her elder daughter who was standing by the door, wringing her hands. The girl jumped slightly at being addressed, but quickly darted into the kitchen area.

Soma, meanwhile, had beckoned Yuuno over, deciding to leave Nanoha and her family alone for a while. "What happened after you called me?" he asked quietly.

The answer he got somehow raised even more questions, especially what Fate had said to Nanoha during their battle. More and more, he was wondering how much Fate actually wanted to be doing this, and how much she felt she was forced to. But surely she had at least some ability and will to disobey orders, didn't she? Especially such clearly foolish ones.

Unless…

"I just don't understand…" Nanoha said, hiccupping as she took a sip of the tea her sister had brought. "Why did Fate do this? Does… was it my fault? Does she… hate me?"

"I don't think so," Soma said, almost to himself as his thoughts continued to race. "If she did, she would have done more damage than she did." He turned to Yuuno. "You're our resident expert on Mid-Childan magic. On Earth, there are lots of charms and curses that can be used to compel people to do things that they wouldn't do normally; is there anything like that where you come from."

Yuuno jerked at the sudden shift in the conversation. "Well, maybe a few, but they're all really advanced, and highly, highly illegal." His eyes widened. "Are you saying that you think Fate is being controlled?"

"It's certainly a possibility," Soma said. "Fate herself doesn't seem to wish any harm, for all the warnings and threats she's been giving, she hasn't really followed through on any of them. Even if she hadn't been willing to kill because of her age, she still could have stolen Raising Heart, all but nullifying Nanoha." The brunette clutched at the red gem hanging around her neck, but Soma barely noticed since he was still thinking fast. "From what I've seen and heard of her, she reminds me of Julius a bit. Julius doesn't talk much because he's completely dedicated to his cause; he doesn't feel like he has to justify himself. Fate seemed to be like that too at the beginning. Now… now she seems to be trying convince us that she's doing the right thing; maybe even trying to convince herself." He glanced up. "Even if it's not a spell that's compelling her to continue following orders, I'm starting to get the feeling that Fate doesn't want to do this."

"You're right…" Nanoha said slowly, nodding her head. "She didn't say that she didn't need help… just that I couldn't…" She looked up, her eyes flashing. "So you're saying that Fate's being forced to do this? That she doesn't want to fight?"

"It stands to reason," Soma said.

"That's… that's…." Nanoha said, her voice shaking not with sobs but with righteous indignation. "That's it! I'm going to save her if it's the last thing I ever do!" She tried to leap to her feet, but must have forgotten that her mother was still hugging her.

"Let's not go that far, sweetheart," Mrs. Takamachi chided gently. "And you're not going anywhere until you've finished you're tea and gotten some rest."

"Yes, mother," Nanoha said sheepishly before quickly draining her tea and making her way upstairs.

A minute of silence passed before Mr. Takamachi turned to Soma. "Do you actually believe what you said?" he asked quietly. "Or are you just trying to get Nanoha's spirit up so that she'll go out to fight again?"

"I promised I wouldn't deliberately lie," Soma said, meeting the older man's eyes. "I'm not sure if there is a compulsion curse involved, but I am almost certain, from everything I've heard, that Fate does not truly want this. It could just be loyalty to her mother that drives her, but such a self-destructive form of loyalty is dangerous, even if it isn't backed by magic." He sighed and sat down. "I am glad that Nanoha's willing to stay on. I know I or Julius could beat Fate in a fight if we had to, but it would be likely to be bloody, and I really don't want to hurt a child, especially if she's acting against her will. Nanoha's magic can stun Fate without causing permanent damage, and then we can protect her; from Death and whatever, whoever, else might threaten her."

Mr. Takamachi nodded before glancing at his wife. The two shared a silent conversation with their eyes before he turned back to Soma. "Very well, Momoko and I will allow Nanoha to stay on a while longer," he said.

"Thank you," Soma said back, bowing slightly.

A moment later, the door opened and the sound of heavy combat boots could be heard making their way down the hall. "We're in here, Julius," Soma called.

A moment later, the vampire hunter stepped in, but his whip wasn't hanging at his side like normally would. Instead, it was in his hand, wrapped tightly around something. "I found another one, and I also finished searching all the islands, there are no sign of any more in that area," he said, unfurling the Vampire Killer and depositing the Jewel Seed on the table before hanging it in its proper place.

"Great job," Soma said, studying the gem. Unlike the others, it seemed quite battered, and Soma remembered that the Vampire Killer seemed to have a profound effect on the chaos inherent in these gems. Perhaps, if all else failed, Julius would be able to completely destroy them.

As if reading his mind, Yuuno paled. "These Lost Logia are highly unstable!" he said hurriedly. "The Bureau rarely destroys them since there's no way of telling what they'll do: even one Jewel Seed has enough power to cause a major dimensional instability! Don't treat them so roughly!"

Julius glanced at him before shrugging. "Very well, I'll do less damage in future. But what are you all doing here? And where's the girl?"

"Fate's back," Soma said. "And she's not on our side."

Julius' eyes narrowed. "So she denied your offer?"

"Whether by her own will or not, yes," Soma said. He quickly explained his suspicions to Julius, who nodded sharply.

"Whatever the reason, she needs to be stopped. If I should meet her, I'll do all I can to capture her alive and unharmed, but if she is skilled enough to defeat Takamachi, then it will not be an easy prospect." Soma couldn't help but smile a bit: despite Julius' grim words, he had admitted that Nanoha was something special.

"Hopefully it won't come to that, Julius," Yoko said from the couch. "Still, I'm glad to hear that you found another Jewel Seed, to make up for my mistake. Here, I'll go seal that in a knife for you." Hammer gently helped her to her feet, and the pair took the battered gem that Julius had found into another room.

"So, Akinobu and Yuriko are still out, right?" Soma said, turning to Mr. Takamachi, who nodded. "I've searched most of the places they recommended and haven't found much, hopefully they have some more ideas." With that, he turned to finish his round.

* * *

Akinobu sat on the balcony of the city records building, his eyes staring unseeingly into the distance. Yuriko had made him take a break from their work and come out here after he missed another one of her comments; she thought he had some terrible pain that was interfering in his work.

This was only partially true. In actuality, Akinobu was desperately trying to decide what to do about the fact that he was currently helping the Lord of Darkness collect dangerous gems that would increase his power, the same Lord of Darkness that his father had given his life to stop.

'I have to do something, stop this somehow,' he thought, rubbing his eyes. He hadn't got much sleep last night; dark nightmares had plagued him, visions of a future in which Dracula had risen again to continue his war on humanity, and with the power of the Jewel Seeds on his side he had scoured the earth of all good life save for Akinobu, who he mockingly told that he rewarded those that helped him. Then Akinobu's father had appeared before him, tearfully asking why he hadn't stopped the dark lord when he'd had the chance. "Did my sacrifice mean nothing to you?" he had whispered as the dream ended.

Akinobu wasn't going to let that happen.

It was clear that he had to get the Jewel Seeds away from the dark lord, had to find somewhere to hide them. Unfortunately, almost all of the secure hiding places he knew of were controlled by Arikado, who had knowingly allowed Dracula to enter his service and had done nothing; likely he was in league with the dark lord. No, Akinobu would have to find somewhere else to hide the gems.

The ferret, Yuuno? No, he was already under the dark lord's sway, as was poor Nanoha and everyone else that had spent too long with Dracula. That Fate girl, perhaps? She was an alien, yes, but at least she would keep them out of the hands of darkness. Perhaps the reason she hadn't returned was that some dark spell had been cast upon her, but her mother had detected it and forbade Fate from returning. If that was the case, she would be perfect.

Of course, the problem with that would be finding her, but seeking did seem the best option. Unfortunately, even after he found her, getting her to trust that he had seen the truth would be difficult, especially since he didn't have much time. Between Death and Dracula, over half the Jewel Seeds were in the hands of darkness; he had to act fast.

The good news was that Dracula didn't seem to have realized that Akinobu knew what was going on, so he was still venturing forth and leaving his human thralls behind to protect the gems. Akinobu pitied those poor people, and he would do everything in his power to keep them safe, but his limited magical potential wasn't nearly enough to break a curse of the magnitude that the Lord of Darkness could place. Perhaps Fate's mother would be able to help him after he got the Jewel Seeds to her, she sounded like a powerful magic user.

"Akinobu? Are you feeling better?" Yuriko's voice drifted through the door.

"Much better, thank you," he said, turning and pushing his face into a smile. His greatest question right now was whether or not to try and convince Yuriko of his realization. They had been partners for years, and he knew that she was a good woman. Unfortunately, she followed orders well. Normally this was a good thing, but now that the authority figures were the enemy, it would force her to choose between trusting him or following Dracula. The time it would take her to make that choice, even if it was the right one, would alert the dark forces to Akinobu's intentions. No, as much as it pained him, it was best for him to leave her out of this. She'd understand later.

The dark-haired woman nodded, a concerned smile on her face. "Good, I finished up here, and it's starting to get dark. We should head back." She studied him. "Are you sure you're alright? You're so pale."

"I'm fine," Akinobu said automatically, but she didn't seem to believe him, as she stepped forward and held out her hand.

"Hand," she said simply. After a moment, he obliged, and she flinched as she touched him.

"You're freezing!" she gasped. "You should have told someone that you were sick!" Akinobu blinked, he hadn't thought he was. "I'll talk to Soma, you need rest."

Akinobu was about to tell her that he didn't need help, but a sudden thought occurred to him. If he was believed to be ill, then it would be possible for him to get the Jewel Seeds out of the "safe" house while the Dark Lord was away.

"I just didn't want to cause any trouble," he said. "I'll…"

As expected, Yuriko didn't buy it for a second. "No, it's best for you to recover," she said. "Come on, let's go."

As the pair made their way back to the base, Akinobu's mind quickly started forming a plan. It wouldn't be easy, there would a lot of people still in the house, but with any luck, he'd be able to get the Jewel Seeds out of the hands of Dracula and buy some time to plan his next move.

'Father, watch over me,' he thought.

* * *

The next day dawned as any other, and found Nanoha sitting at the table of the safe house, doing mental exercises with Raising Heart. 'We're going to help Fate, Raising Heart,' the girl said quietly. 'Even if we have to stop her with our magic, we're going to save her.'

'**Yes, my Master**,' Raising Heart said.

'Thank you, Raising Heart,' Nanoha continued. 'I couldn't have done any of this without you.'

'**Anything for you, my Master**,' the Intelligent Device said, a tiny note of pride in her mechanical voice.

Before Nanoha could continue, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps making their way down the stairs, and a moment later Julius Belmont stepped into the kitchen, decked out in his normal brown trench coat. "Takamachi," he said, nodding sharply as he made his way towards the fridge. The young mage suppressed a sigh, despite Soma's words when he first arrived, the vampire hunter had not warmed up to her, or anyone for that matter. Several times, she had considered asking him about why he was so… distant, but she had never mustered up the courage.

Although… Soma had said that Fate reminded him of Julius, so maybe if she understood him better, she could gain some insight into Fate.

"Um, can I talk to you?" she asked as he made his way towards the door, an apple in his hand. "I mean, we've never really had a chance…"

After a moment, he turned to face her. "If you wish," he said, his voice remaining neutral. His tone nearly caused Nanoha to abandon her effort, but she steeled her nerves and pressed on.

"So, how did you come to be a vampire hunter?" Best to start with something relatively safe.

"The Belmont clan has been vampire hunters for many generations," Julius said simply. "This whip was created over a thousand years ago by the progenitor of our clan, Leon Belmont. It was lost to the bloodline for a time, but Arikado saw that it was returned to me when I was young, so that I could prepare for the 1999 prophecy."

"The what prophecy?" Nanoha asked.

"It was said that, in 1999, the final battle with Dracula would occur, and that the Belmont of the age would finally cast him down forever," Julius said. "However, the credit cannot go to me alone, for it was only by the efforts of the Hakuba family that Castlevania was sealed away and the cycle of Dracula's resurrection was broken."

Nanoha blinked. "But wait, didn't Soma say that he was Dracula's resurrection?" she asked before jerking her hand to her mouth, afraid that she might not have been supposed to tell Julius that.

"I already know, though I admit I am surprised that he told you," Julius said. "Well, I am no expert on the cycle of death and rebirth, so I cannot tell you what happened. I believe Soma himself could explain it better. But why do you ask me about these things?"

Nanoha felt her face flush slightly. "I just wanted to know more about you," she said quickly. "I mean, Soma and Yoko have told me about themselves a bit, but you've…" She shut her mouth, not sure how to express herself without sounding rude.

It seemed, however, that Julius knew what she was trying to say. "I admit, I misjudged you when I first laid eyes on you," he said. "I saw only a child, not ready for what she would be faced with." His eyes pierced hers. "To be truthful, I still see that, and if it were my decision, you wouldn't set foot on any battlefield until you were more experienced. However, I also recognize your power and your devotion; anyone who can look Death in the eye and deny him is not someone to be taken lightly. Besides, I trust Soma, and if he believes it best that you continue to aid us, then I will stand by that decision."

"Well, I'm glad to know I have your vote of confidence," Soma said as he stepped into the room. "And it's nice to see that you two are getting along." He glanced at Nanoha. "You've fully recovered from yesterday, Nanoha?"

"Yes," Nanoha said, smiling. "Raising Heart and I are ready to go!"

Soma chuckled. "That's good to hear, but be sure not to overdo it." He glanced up at the ceiling. "The others should be up before too long, and we can go over our plan. With the islands cleared, there are only a few more places left for the Jewel Seeds to have landed."

"Well, there is always the ocean," Nanoha said.

"That's true," Soma said. "But that's a whole different area to search, and I'm still trying to figure out how to do it without either going over the whole area with divers or using search spells that will attract the attention of every monster from here to the Americas."

Thirty minutes later, when the rest of the hunting team had gathered in the map room, Soma pointed to the last unsearched area of the countryside. "Since Nanoha, Yuuno, and Yoko work best in open airspace, they'll cover this area. Julius, you and I will scan the sewers, they're the last place in the city proper that we have to look through." Nanoha couldn't help but be happy that she wasn't going anywhere near there, even if it meant that Soma and Julius would have to.

"Any questions?" Soma asked after a moment, looking around. When everyone shook his head, he continued. "Then let's go, and remember to keep an eye out, not only for Death's minions, but Fate as well."

As Yoko, Nanoha, and Yuuno made their way through the city, the brunette could only hope that she would meet Fate, so that they could finally work out their differences, once and for all.

…

Across town, two figures stood atop a tower, studying a transparent map projected by a golden triangular Intelligent Device. "There are not many places left to look," Fate said quietly, studying the map.

"Yeah, only really this area, unless we want to start searching the ocean," Arf muttered, tugging at the glove that covered her left hand. "And we should try to avoid the others if possible." In truth, Arf would rather like it if Nanoha or Soma or one of the others found them, especially in a way that was completely out of her control, so Death couldn't force her to do anything.

Her hopes weren't high, though.

…

Somewhere between the two young mages, Soma and Julius stood over an open manhole cover, studying their maps of the system.

"Fortunately, it's rather contained, so it shouldn't be that difficult for us to get close enough to sense any Jewel Seed that might be down here," Soma said. "Think that Death's got monsters looking yet?"

"Probably," Julius said grimly. "Let's go." With that, the two leapt in before splitting up.

None of them had any idea of the storm this day would bring.

* * *

Akinobu sighed as he considered the vials in his hand. Everything had seemed so simple yesterday, but now he was starting to have second thoughts. Was it really his place to make decisions like this? Julius Belmont didn't seem to mind working with Som… Dracula, and his line had been dedicated to stamping out evil for as long as anyone could remember. Perhaps he was jumping to conclusions…

No… no he couldn't afford to think like that. Akinobu was high enough in the Special Investigations Division to know some history, like how Richter Belmont had nearly fallen to darkness until the mysterious Alucard had saved him. Belmonts were not infallible, no mortal was. And even if Soma didn't want to be Dracula, the threat was always there. The Jewel Seeds simply couldn't stay near him, or anywhere on Earth for that matter. He had to do this… he had to be strong… like his father had been. He huffed; now that he had wasted so much time debating with himself, he was running out of it.

Pocketing the vials, Akinobu made his way downstairs. As expected, those that were left in the base had gathered together in the living room, trying to ignore their worries for those who were knowingly walking into the face of Death and trying to deny him. He held no malice for any of these people: they were like he had been. Still, he had to disable them: Hammer had the key to the safe that held the Jewel Seeds and wouldn't give it up easily.

"Oh, Agent Yamamoto!" the middle Takamachi child, Miyuki, said. "I heard your friend saying something about you being ill…"

"It's not as bad as she thinks," Akinobu said, putting a smile on his face, "but I've learned from long experience that, when working for Yuriko, when she wants me to do something I will inevitably end up doing it." He glanced around at the rest of the family, only to notice that one was missing. "Where's the eldest? Kyouya, wasn't it?"

"He went to visit his girlfriend," Mr. Takamachi said. "He hasn't seen her since that night, and phone calls can only do so much. Don't worry, he'll be careful."

"I'm sure he will," Akinobu said. "And I'm sorry it had to be like this." As he said this, he started making his way towards the kitchen, noting thankfully that no one at the table seemed to have had anything to drink.

"It's alright, I would have done the same thing in your position," Mr. Takamachi said.

Akinobu nodded slowly as he entered the kitchen. "I was thinking of making some tea, does anyone else want anything?" he called, silently praying that they all said yes, it would make everything so much easier. Thankfully, there was a general chorus of affirmatives, as well as several requests (Apparently Hammer was more of a coffee person.) Quickly making his preparations, Akinobu brought a tray with the drinks back to the table, careful to keep his one separated from the others.

"Thanks," Miyuki said, accepting her tea. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Does it ever get easier? All we've done is wait while Nanoha and the others take the risks…"

Akinobu suppressed a sigh, reminding himself that he had to keep everyone distracted until the drugs he had put in their drinks took effect. "I'm afraid I can't say much, normally I don't work on cases that are a high enough level where I'm not able to make much of a difference."

"I guess," Miyuki said. "I'm… I'm…"

"You're what, dear?" her mother said, glancing worriedly at her daughter, even as her own eyes began to droop. Akinobu tensed slightly, the drugs were starting to overcome the others.

"I don't… feel so good… all of a sudden…" the girl said, rubbing her forehead with one hand.

Around the rest of the table, the others were starting to succumb. "What's going on?" Hammer asked, staring at his coffee. "This ain't…"

Mr. Takamachi, however, seemed to have realized what was going on. "What did you do?" he growled, pushing himself to his feet even as he fought to stay awake. "Why…"

"I did what I had to do," Akinobu said as Miyuki and her mother finally went under completely. "I will not stand by while Dracula manipulates his way back to power." He moved around the table to Hammer, who had slumped off his chair and onto his hands and knees, trying to resist. "I wish it didn't have to be like this, but it does."

"Damn… you…" the former soldier gasped before falling flat on his face.

"I'm sorry," Akinobu said as he started digging through Hammer's pockets, looking for the key that he had been entrusted with. Once he found it, he quickly turned and headed for the basement, not wanting to see the look of betrayal in the remaining eyes. The sound of Mr. Takamachi's body hitting the floor the last thing he heard as he closed the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the city, three figures flew low over the trees, their magical senses strained to detect any sign of the Jewel Seed they were searching for.

"No sign of demons!" Yuuno called to the others. "Maybe they already searched this area!"

"Even if they did, we have to as well," Yoko shouted back over the rushing wind. "They might have missed something! Besides, I don't think the gem's the only thing we're out here for!"

Nanoha flew silently, occasionally spinning in midair to check the skies behind and above the trio, searching for any flash of yellow that might mark her own target. The longer Fate was out there, alone, the longer she'd be in danger. Her thoughts were interrupted by the vibrating of the amulet around her wrist.

A moment later, three gargoyles rose from the trees, waving their spears and shrieking. Before they could do any more, however, they were blasted by a volley of ice javelins and pink bullets. "Well, there're some demons, that's for sure," Yoko said. "Let's hurry." The others nodded before continuing on.

Several minutes and clusters of demons passed before Nanoha finally saw what she had been waiting for. "There!" she shouted, pointing at a flash of yellow crossing the sky. "Let's go!" she called as she streaked towards the blonde mage.

"Nanoha! Wait for us!" Yuuno shouted, but the brunette was going too fast to hear him, and even if she had she probably would have ignored him.

Fate, meanwhile, had noticed the pink blur coming towards her and narrowed her eyes. 'Will she never learn?' she thought coldly, preparing herself to face the over-eager mage again.

"Fate!" Nanoha shouted, drifting to a halt several meters away from the other girl. "I'm so glad you're alright! I was worried Death…" She was then interrupted by a volley of Photon Lancer bolts.

"For the last time," Fate said. "I am not interested in being your 'friend.' I want nothing to do with you. Either give me the Jewel Seeds, or fight me."

Nanoha huffed in exasperation. "Fate, it doesn't have to be like this!" she called, dodging another attack. "Why do you insist on trying to do these things alone? It's not safe."

"She's right, Fate!" Yoko called as she and Yuuno caught up and started circling the area. "If you'd just calm down and talk to us, I'm sure we could come to a resolution that would satisfy everyone."

"There is nothing to talk about," Fate said simply. "Mother has ordered me to take the Jewel Seeds, and that's what I'm going to do. If you get in my way, then you are my enemies."

Nanoha shook her head as she was forced to bring up a Round Shield and fire off several Divine Shooter bolts to drive Fate back. "But why, Fate?" she asked. "Why do you have to follow her orders? I know she's your mother, but she's clearly not acting rationally…"

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Fate said, making another slash with her scythe.

"Fate, listen to yourself!" Nanoha said. "Even if you can defeat me, if you want the Jewel Seeds, you'll have to fight Soma, and he's much stronger than I am. And there's still Death… Fate, we don't want you to get hurt…" The other mage didn't answer, simply directing another slash at Nanoha. Still, her attacks almost seemed… hesitant, as if she wasn't giving the battle her all. Or maybe, now that Nanoha wasn't distracted by doubts, she was simply able to fight more effectively. Despite this, she was still a dangerous opponent.

Yuuno and Yoko circled the battle, keeping an eye on both Fate and Arf, who watched them warily in turn. After several more clashes between Fate and Nanoha, Yuuno spoke up. "Arf… you can't support this, can you? You know what Death's capable of…"

Arf flinched slightly as he said this, but she shook her head. "It… is not my place to speak," she said quietly, her fists clenching.

"You're a Familiar!" Yuuno said. "You're supposed to protect your Master, even from herself…"

"It's not that simple," Arf said. "It's… just not that simple."

'Should we fight her or Fate?' Yuuno asked Yoko telepathically.

'I don't know if I can fight without seriously hurting or killing either of them,' Yoko thought. 'If Nanoha really needs help, I'll step in, but for the moment, let's see how she does.' Yuuno nodded, and the pair, along with Arf, watched the two child mages clash again. Yuuno reached out with his mind after a moment, letting Soma know what was going on.

* * *

Soma 's boots skidded slightly as he landed for a moment. He estimated that he and Julius had finished searching almost half of the sewer system with no sign of a Jewel Seed. It was quite possible that none of them had made their way down here; but Soma needed to be sure.

Besides, there were a fair few mermen and killer fish down in the sewers, so it was good that they were clearing it out.

As if summoned by his thoughts, a trio of mermen jumped out of the dirty water behind Soma. He didn't even turn to face them, simply pointing his gun over his shoulder and pegging each of them in the head by sound. 'It's like Death isn't even trying anymore,' he thought, 'I wonder what he's up to…'

'Soma,' Yuuno said suddenly, his voice tense. 'We've met up with Fate.'

Soma bit back a curse. 'Do you need my help?' he asked, looking for the nearest exit.

'No, not this time,' the shapeshifter said reassuringly. 'Yoko and I are still up in case Death arrives, and Nanoha's doing well against Fate. We're… still not getting through to her, though.'

'Try to get her talking. Not only will it distract her from the fight, but we may also get some insight into just what she's thinking.'

As the mental link closed, Soma briefly considered going anyways, but decided against it. He trusted Yoko to keep the others safe, and he and Julius needed to clear these sewers soon. Still, he resolved to take note of any exits, so that if he was needed he could reach them soon.

As he thought this, however, a shriek filled the sewer tunnels, and a moment later a fishman flew out of a nearby tunnel and smashed into the wall, only to burn away a moment later as it's unholy life ended. "Well, looks like I found the Jewel Seed," Soma thought. "But why didn't I sense it before…"

'Perhaps it's hiding itself,' Witch thought as Soma dashed around the corner and saw nothing. 'These gems are powerful, who knows what they're capable of…'

Before Soma could respond, something burst from the water and landed on the thin walkway. Soma tensed, his hand flying to Muramasa's hilt. 'You're right,' he thought. 'I can't sense it at all… It must have wished for stealth as well as size, whatever it once was.'

The creature was pitch black, as if it was made of oily shadow rather than flesh and bone. Not even its eyes were visible, making Soma wonder if it could even see him, or if it tracked its enemies by sound and smell. To test this, he jumped into the air and drifted silently to the side. The creature's head turned with him, and a moment later, it lunged.

"Let's shed some light on the creature. Erinys," Soma said, raising a hand. Just as the shadowy being was about to reach him, an angelic figure appeared in a flash; beams of light stabbing from its glorious wings. The monster howled in agony as it was tossed back by the force of the spell, slamming into the wall hard enough to crack the concrete. As it fell to the ground, Soma briefly caught sight of the red glow of the Jewel Seed before the darkness covered it up.

The creature glared at Soma for a moment before dashing back into the water, sliding in without a splash and vanishing from Soma's sight. "So, this is the way you want to play, is it," Soma muttered, shifting Muramasa in his hand. "I can't sense you, but with some help, I can hear you. Bat!"

'I obey,' the soul said, and a moment later Soma's ears started picking up all the little sounds of the sewers that he had been missing. Sounds like the dripping of water, the scuffling of distant demons, the beating of his own heart, even the distant sound of footsteps from the street above him.

Most importantly, however, he heard the sound of the monster leaving the water behind him and lunging at his back.

"Erinys!" Soma said, spinning around and letting the powerful light out, slamming the creature against the opposite wall. This time, he was able to cross the distance before it recovered and dealt a slash with Muramasa.

The enemy squealed in pain as the cursed blade bit into the red interior, and the darkness quickly gathered to trap the blade and wrench it out of Soma's hand. However, Soma held on and called Erinys again, banishing the black shield and digging his weapon further into the creature's soft flesh. It's tail tried to whip Soma, but his coat's defenses were more than enough to repel the weak attack, and after several long moments, Soma was able to dig out the Jewel Seed.

After a long moment, Soma summoned and combined Bat and Ghost. "Go find Julius, I'll need him to weaken this." The flying rodent soul bobbed quickly before flapping off into the shadows. A moment later, several mermen clambered out of the sewer water to confront Soma, their eyes blazing. In response, Soma called up his Killer Clown and fanned a deck of razor cards.

Things seemed to be going well; another Jewel Seed was accounted for, Fate was pinned down, and Death was nowhere to be seen. Still, Soma couldn't help but wonder what the dark angel was up to, why it almost seemed that he wasn't interested in hunting Jewel Seeds anymore.

* * *

Akinobu quickly made his way down the steps leading to the basement. Like almost everything else in a Special Investigations safe house, the basement was standardized. It was the final refuge for a team, a place where they could hold out and pray for reinforcements.

As he reached the bottom of the steps, he was met with a strong iron door with several runes set into its frame. Supposedly, these were meant to be able to withstand any attack by any person or creature touched by Hell's dark power. However, Akinobu had his doubts about the purity of these wards, since the Lord of Darkness himself had been able to pass through them with no interference. Fortunately, they hadn't been modified to prevent Dracula's enemies from passing through, since Akinobu entered the basement without issue and turned on the lights.

In the center of the room was a large, pulsating crystal, the keystone for the wards that surrounded the house. Akinobu half expected the light to have been shot with darkness, since the outer wards must also have been compromised, but it looked all right. Still, appearances could be deceiving, so he paid the crystal no mind, he was here for something much more important.

On the opposite end of the room, near the emergency generator, was the high-security safe where the Jewel Seeds were being kept. The safe itself was relatively small, yet made of a mix of steel and mythral that made it almost indestructible even without its normal magical warding. All of these things paled, however, in the face of its ultimate defense: should all else fail; the safe could be locked in a stasis mode with a single drop of human blood. This final effort would only last two hours, but for those two hours, it was said that God himself would have trouble moving or opening the safe, and no one else should even bother trying. There was no way for anyone to counteract this, either, not even Arikado. Still, none of this would be necessary; Akinobu only wanted what was inside.

Kneeling in front of the safe, he used the key he had taken from Hammer to unlock it and pulled out the bag containing the sealed Jewel Seeds. He quickly checked to make sure that they were all there before closing the bag and the safe. He then turned to head back for the exit.

"Akinobu?"

A long moment of silence filled the room after this stunned word from Yuriko, who had just entered the basement. Finally, Akinobu found his voice.

"What are you doing back?" he asked.

"I needed something…" she said, her eyes still wide as they flicked from his face to the bag in his hands. "I heard someone down here, so I… What's going on…"

Akinobu wanted to curse, but forced the urge down, he would have one chance to convince Yuriko that he was doing the right thing. "Yuriko, Soma Cruz is Dracula." Almost as soon as he said the words, he realized that she likely thought he sounded crazy, but he didn't have much time. Either she would join him, or he would have to get past her by… other means.

"What… you can't… what?!" Yuriko said, blinking rapidly.

"He admitted as much himself," Akinobu said quickly. "It's the source of all his powers… he commands the souls of demons. That's why I cannot allow him to have the Jewel Seeds."

"But… but… but… This is madness! That's absolutely impossible…"

"He stopped time," Akinobu reminded her. "There is no way any mortal power could do that. You said he talked to trees; he's more powerful than any other force either of us has seen, even a Belmont. There's no way he could be that strong without dark powers." He held out his hand. "Please, Yuriko, we've worked together for years, you have to trust me. Let's get out of here, before he gets back."

For a moment, Akinobu thought she was going to agree to help him, or at least hear him out somewhere safer, but she shook her head. "I don't know what's happened to you, but you're not making any sense. Now, put those back, and let's talk about this rationally…"

"We don't have that kind of time!" Akinobu snapped. "If Dracula gets the slightest hint that I suspect him, there won't be another chance to fix this!" As Yuriko opened her mouth to respond, Akinobu shook his head. "I'm sorry, Yuriko, but if you're not going to help me… I have to leave without you. Get out of my way, I don't want to hurt you."

"Okay, now I _know_ something's wrong with you!" she shot back. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do something you'll regret later." She took a step forward as she held out her hand. "Give me the Jewel Seeds."

Akinobu's hand flew to the holster hidden under his coat as he backed away from his former friend's advance. "Don't make me use this, Yuriko," he said as he brought the weapon to bear. "I will if I have to. I will not let the sacrifices of all those who died opposing Dracula be for nothing."

Yuriko blinked again, stumbling back a few steps at the sight of the weapon pointed at her. "Akinobu, think about what you're doing," she said, raising a hand. "You're better than this!" Akinobu couldn't bring himself to speak, simply gesturing with his gun for her to move away from the door so that he could leave.

A second later, he realized that he had put her right next to one of the pillars supporting the basement, close enough for her to dart behind it before he could finish pulling the trigger.

"I can't let you go through with this, Akinobu," she said as he retreated behind the warding crystal. "Please, put the gun down, let's…"

"There's nothing to talk about," Akinobu said, glancing briefly around the crystal before ducking back. He wasn't close enough to rush her unless she got distracted by something, like if she tried to call someone. Not that she would, it wasn't in her nature to call for help if she didn't feel she had to. He just had to figure out how to get her out of his way before someone arrived.

A moment later, a pair of hisses emanated from Yuriko's position, followed by the cracks of bullets hitting the wall. These were clearly warning shots; they were way too far off to be actual attempts on his life. 'I've got to finish this fast! But how…' Suddenly, an idea sprung into his mind. It was risky, certainly, but if he could pull it off…

Firing his own gun at the pillar shielding Yuriko, he backed deeper into the room, behind one of the back pillars. Once he was there, he quickly reloaded. As expected, Yuriko took the opportunity to dart up to the cover behind the crystal in the center of the room.

"You're cornered, Akinobu!" she called. "It's only a matter of time before someone…"

Akinobu emptied his clip into the crystal, taking care to damage certain spots.

Under normal circumstances, these warding devices were completely stable. However, if the crystal matrix was disrupted in a few key places, the magic within would quickly begin to spiral out of control, leading to… explosive results.

Yuriko must have realized what was about to happen, as she dove away from the cracking crystal just before it shattered, sending razor shards everywhere along with a blinding flash and a deafening boom.

* * *

Soma and Julius had just finished taming the Jewel Seed that they had found when the enchanted stones they both carried to monitor the wards around the safe house suddenly shattered.

"Wha… Damn it!" Soma called, his voice echoing in the confines of sewers. "What the hell! Those wards should have been able to hold off Death for a few minutes at least, even with the Jewel Seed he already has!"

"No time! **GO**!" Julius shouted. "They need you!" Soma nodded briefly before dashing to the nearest manhole and launching himself up with Hippogryph, smashing through like it wasn't there. He ignored the various civilians that were standing around, gaping at him, instead launching himself further into the sky and dashing towards the danger.

He only prayed that the people there could hold out until he arrived.

* * *

Fate gritted her teeth as she slid away from another of that girl's swings while deflecting a pair of pink shooter spells.

The problem with fighting the brunette was that she was _so inconsistent_! During their first battle (if it could even be called that) she clearly hadn't known what she was doing, and Fate had easily defeated her; so easily that she hadn't even considered her a serious obstacle. Then, then they had been forced to work together against that Death entity, and she had acquitted herself relatively well, though Fate could still have defeated her. After that had been their brief struggle in the city, and she had been even stronger then, though still only just reaching Fate's true skill level.

All this had pointed to a mage that had was still advancing, but then Fate had been able to defeat her fairly easily yesterday, indicating that she had gotten worse. But now… now she was flying and casting so well that a small part of Fate was wondering who would actually win…

Fate forced these thoughts out of her mind; she couldn't _afford_ to fail, not here, not now. Her mother was depending on her, Arf was depending on her, she had to do this. And this time… this time she wouldn't be able to hold back… let her opponent go unharmed. She was clearly too stubborn to get the hint that Fate wasn't going to obey her.

'Can you really do it, though?' a gentle voice murmured, a voice that sounded very familiar, though Fate couldn't immediately place it. 'Can you really end this girl's life, when she's done nothing other than be friendly?'

"**Arc Saber!**" Bardiche said as Fate dashed back, launching the blade of her Device before forming another one and Blitzing into the smoke cloud of the blocked attack, only for Bardiche to be deflected by a pink and white staff.

"Fate, you're not well!" the other mage said, her blue eyes shining as they met Fate's. "You can't possible be doing this of your own will, you're better than that!"

… She was certainly persistent, wasn't she? It really did sound like she believed what she was saying. Perhaps she actually did. Maybe she was just being manipulated by her so-called friends… like Fate had almost been… Maybe if they talked, she could convince the girl to lay her Device down… or even help Fate with her mission.

But no, Fate couldn't think like that. Her mother's orders were clear: she and Arf and Bardiche were to do this on their own. She had a job to do, and whatever her reasons, the other girl was in her way. No matter how compelling her arguments, no matter how her smile or her tears made Fate feel… they were enemies, and Fate had to defeat her.

"Fly away," Fate whispered as the two clashed again, their faces less than a foot apart. "Fly away, and I won't hurt you. You don't need to do this. I don't need your help."

The girl… Nanoha… shook her head. "I do have to do this, Fate. I have to save you because you do need help. Your eyes… they're so sad and confused, and I can't stand to see them like that. I need to… no, I _want_ to help you, however I can." The two remained close for a moment longer before Fate pushed away, shaking her head.

Before either of them could make another move, a sharp cry came from Nanoha's elder handler. The young mage's eyes darted towards her, and for a brief moment Fate knew she could have Blitzed over and attacked, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Yoko, what's wrong?" the Bureau mage said.

"The safe house… the wards are down!" she shouted back, holding something in her hand. "We have to go back _now_!"

"But… Fate…" Nanoha said, glancing back.

"Fate can wait! Everyone in that house is going to die if we don't help them! Yuuno, start a teleport!" the woman shouted back, dashing over to the boy, followed by Nanoha.

'I think we should stop them,' Arf said mentally, forming several balls of orange magic around her. 'This is our chance.'

The others noticed the Familiar's actions, and their own magic flared up. "Arf, don't do this!" the older woman called, her voice laced with anger and desperation. "We don't have time to fight you! Just leave us alone, isn't that what you want?!"

'Arf, let them go,' Fate said, lowering Bardiche.

'But why?' the wolf asked. 'Who knows what they're actually up to. With that ferret out of the way, we can take the other two, and if he stops, then they can't do whatever they're trying to do. Besides, didn't your mother want you to defeat them?'

Fate blinked, there was something about Arf's voice, and what she said, that set her on edge, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Still, she had made up her mind. 'Not now, Arf,' she said, turning her eyes firmly on her familiar and bringing the full weight of her authority to bear. 'Let them go.'

Arf blinked before lowering her hands and allowing the magic to disperse. 'As you wish, Fate,' she said. Was it just Fate, or had she almost sounded relieved as she said that, despite the fact that she had wanted a battle a few seconds earlier.

"Thank you, Fate!" Nanoha called across the distance as the shapeshifter bowed his head, forming a Mid-Childan Transfer circle beneath his feet. "Be careful!"

Fate simply hovered, watching, for several seconds before the trio vanished.

"Why?" she finally whispered as she and Arf turned to fly away. "Why can't things be simple… like they used to be?"

* * *

It was a moment before Akinobu was able to step out from behind his pillar, his eyes watering and his ears ringing from the explosion of the ward-stone. Still, he kept his gun up in case Yuriko was still in any condition to oppose him.

She was not. Really, she was lucky to be alive. From where he stood, Akinobu counted three wounds from flying crystal shards, and blood was running out of her ears as well. She had also lost her gun, which lay in several pieces against the wall near the door. Still, she was conscious, slowly turning onto her side to look at him.

"Are you insane?" she gasped, her voice louder than really necessary, though Akinobu didn't know if that was due to her shock and anger or the fact that her eardrums had been blown out. "Without the wards…"

What happened next seemed to move in slow motion for Akinobu: a single sickle appeared in the air behind Yuriko, spun once lazily, and then drove itself into the back of her neck. Her grey eyes widened for a moment before her head slowly dropped to the floor with a hollow _thunk_. Yuriko Itou was dead.

"…There will be nothing to keep me out," a silky voice finished for the slain woman, and darkness coalesced over the remains of the crystal, revealing the cloaked skeleton known as Death. He laughed as he caught sight of Akinobu's shocked face. "Ah, yes, my unwitting assistant. I had expected to meet you as soon as you set foot outside these wards to claim my prize, but it seems you chose a much more… explosive… way. How delightful."

"What… but… I…" Akinobu stuttered, his eyes flicking rapidly between his dead friend to the dark figure, who simply laughed.

"I suppose, since you have been such a successful pawn, I suppose I can grant you the knowledge you seek." With that, Death snapped his fingers, and a great fog lifted from Akinobu's mind, causing him to fall to his knees with the revelation. "Yes, everything you have done has been because of the words I whispered in your ears. I created the doubt in your mind, I wove your thoughts like tapestry. Still, I could not directly _force_ you to do anything within the wards you just destroyed, so you still had a chance to oppose me… but you were too weak, like all your mortal kin." Death held out a hand. "Now, of your own will, rise and give me the objects that will bring about the resurrection of Dracula, the Lord of Darkness. Pledge yourself to him, and he will reward you, for he rewards his helpers."

Akinobu barely heard the dark creature's mocking words; he was so wrapped up in his own thoughts. How could he have been so foolish, so easily let Death into his mind?

Suddenly, Death jerked forward, a hiss of pain escaping him.

"I don't think so!" a voice, that of a young man, said fiercely. Both Death and Akinobu glanced back to see two figures standing in the basement: Kyouya, holding the katana Soma had given him, and Shinobu, his day vampire girlfriend.

"So, you wish to interfere?" Death said quietly. "You dare to think that you can stop what has begun? I will cut you both down where you stand!"

'He's right… no one here can stop Death, he's just too powerful. And there's no ward anymore to hold him back, no shield strong… enough…'

Akinobu's head turned to the open safe, and stayed like that for a long moment before he scrambled towards it.

Death must have glanced back, because he shouted "NO!" and Akinobu could feel his chill approaching. Still, he was able to reach the safe in time and throw the bag in, simultaneously slicing his other hand open on a crystal shard that had buried itself into the ground next to the safe. He then brought both hands and shoved the door.

Suddenly, indescribable pain flashed through him, and his head drooped, allowing him to catch sight of the bloody scythe blade sticking out of his stomach. A moment later, he was flying through the air, tossed aside like a ragdoll, only to break several bones as he slammed into a pillar.

Still, as the safe clicked closed and was engulfed in light, he knew the deed was done. A weak laugh slipped from his lips even as blood started trickling from the corner of his mouth. He may have damned himself already, but at least he hadn't dragged the rest of the world with him.

A moment later, Akinobu Yamamoto eyes closed, and he knew no more.

* * *

Shinobu had first learned about Death when she was sixteen, when her family had decided she was ready to know of the predators that stalked the night. Her grandmother had been the one to tell the story, since she was the only one to have actually met the Dark Angel, if only briefly. She had been assured that it was incredibly unlikely that Death would ever be in the same country as her, let alone actually wish for her demise.

Still, it had been months before the nightmares stopped. And now these nightmares were starting to come true in the worst way possible.

She could feel his power, the cold, grim hatred that drove him. Even as he floated across the underground room, she could sense his malevolence, his anger, and his desire to end all life. It was all she could do to not turn and run for her life. If Kyouya hadn't been there, Yasutsuna gripped in his sweaty hands, she likely wouldn't have even entered the house.

The pair had just been returning from her home when the wards went down, and she saw the dark streak that marked Death making his entrance. Though Kyouya wasn't quite as in tune with the magical world as she was, he had seen it too, and like the wonderful, brave hero he was, he had grabbed his katana and immediately sprinted in, fearing for the safety of his family.

Now, now they were alone in a room with the most dangerous creature of darkness, the right hand of the Lord of Castlevania, King of the Night. They were alone with Death himself.

Shinobu knew what they were facing, and she had no illusion that they would be able to defeat him. But she swore, if she was to die, she would die on her feet, next to Kyouya.

"I love you," she whispered. Kyouya glanced at her for a brief moment, smiling. They then turned to see when Death would strike. The cloaked figure hadn't moved an inch after he threw the human aside. Instead, he simply floated in front of the safe, his scythe dripping blood onto the concrete as it hung at his side.

"Ha..."

Shinobu shuddered as the first sound that came from the figure was a laugh. Somehow, that horrible mockery of such a wonderful thing was worse than any rage-filled scream or curse.

"Haha…"

Kyouya tensed, shifting his blade into a more defensive form as he unconsciously stepped in front of Shinobu.

"Hehehe…Hahaha…He…HahahahahaHAHAHAHAHA_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA__**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**__**HAHAHAHAHAHAHA**__**!**_" Death threw back his skeletal head, his insane laughter echoing throughout the basement even as the ground beneath him began to crack with the force of his rage. A gasp of pain escaped the pair as the full force of Death's rage broke over them, driving them both back a few steps. "**SO CLOSE! I WAS SO CLOSE! VICTORY WAS WITHIN MY GRASP! THEY WERE MINE! MINE! MINE!**" Death spun around, his normally empty eyes blazing with fire and dripping blood. "**THEN YOU…**"

A terrible ripping noise filled the room as the front of Death's robes tore themselves open, revealing this body, and the blazing red ball of hate and evil that fueled him. Simultaneously, the hood that had covered his skull was burned away as a black, flaming halo appeared around his head.

"_**YOU INTERFEARED!"**_

Death raised his scythe in both hands, gripping it in the middle, before snapping it in half. Screams filled the air as ghostly hands rose around Death, the souls of the damned and the souls he had stolen. These tortured ghosts were twisted and warped into thick chains which wrapped themselves around his arms and chest, even as the two haves of his scythe turned pure black and transformed into a pair of hand scythes, each with a bloody, jagged blade. The ends of the chains attached to the hafts of his new weapons, and he started spinning them in deadly arcs.

"**I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU ALL! I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR ROBBING ME OF MY VICTORY! YOU, YOUR FAMILIES, ALL OF THOSE THAT DARE TO OPPOSE THE LORD OF DARKNESS WILL ALL DIE IN AGONY! YOU!**" Death's insane eyes pierced Shinobu, forcing her back several steps further and into the wall next to the door. "**GIRL WHO DENIES YOUR BLOOD, YOUR SUFFERING WILL ECHO ACROSS THE CENTURIES! YOURS AND THE SUFFERING OF ALL YOUR TREACHEROUS LINE!"** His gaze then turned to Kyouya, who also was driven back by the sheer power of the dark hate directed at him.** "AND YOU, ELDEST OF TAKAMACHI, YOUR CURSED SISTER WILL BE FORCED TO DRINK OF YOUR BLOOD BEFORE I GRANT HER DEATH! YOU! **_**WILL!**__**PAY**__!_" With that, Death lunged forward, his sickles moving faster than even Shinobu's enhanced eyes could track. Her courage failed her, and she reached desperately for her love even as her eyes closed.

_SHIIIINNG!_

Pink light shone through Shinobu's eyelids, and a subtle chill surrounded her. After a moment, she dared to open her eyes.

The first thing she saw was Kyouya, standing in front of her with his blade raised, in a last, desperate, attempt to protect her. In front of him, however, were Nanoha and Yoko, their magical channels raised. Somehow, they had formed a combined shield of magical pink energy and ice, which had caused the twin sickles to be deflected to either side, impaling themselves in the concrete hard enough to crack it for almost a meter around the impact point.

"You will not hurt them!" Nanoha shouted.

When Kyouya had first told her that Nanoha was a powerful enough magic user that the Special Investigations Division had taken an interest in her, she hadn't known what to think. Her little sister's best friend, the cute little creature that Shinobu had helped babysit on several occasions, a magical girl? Now… now seeing the billowing white and blue dress, the staff that she carried, seeing her standing before Death himself with only a fraction of the fear that Shinobu herself felt, suddenly it all became real.

These warm thoughts were dashed as Death started screaming again.

"**BELNADES! TAKAMACHI! YOU DARE TO INTERFEAR! I WILL END YOU BOTH WHERE YOU STAND!**" With a shriek, the two scythes were wrenched out of the ground by their chains and started smashing into the barrier the two magicians had erected, quickly causing it to crack.

"RUN!" Yoko shouted, stumbling back. "All of you! GO! I'll hold him off!"

"Not alone!" Nanoha cried back. "He's gone completely mad!"

"Your life's more important than mine! GO!" Yoko shoved Nanoha back. "Get to Yuuno! GO!"

The barrier shattered, and Death's weapons closed in on the pair. Nanoha stumbled and fell onto her back, under the path of the bloody attack. For a moment, it looked like Yoko was about to die, but she was able to cartwheel out of the way, allowing the two scythes to collide with a sickening clash. Before Death could pull them apart, the blonde witch waved her wand, causing ice to form around them.

"**RUN!**"

Nanoha looked like she was about to refuse, but Kyouya and Shinobu grabbed her arms and sprinted up the stairs. "LET ME GO! YOKO!"

"She'll be fine!" Kyouya said, though Shinobu could tell he didn't entirely believe himself. "She knows what she's doing!" The trio reached the front room, and Shinobu caught sight of a green light shining from the living room.

"In here! The others are here!" the ferret boy, Yuuno, shouted.

A sudden crash came from behind them as Yoko was ejected from the door leading to the basement, smashing into the opposite wall with a cry of pain. A moment later, a massive volley of bloody skulls and sickles flew towards her, though several diverted towards the other three.

Kyouya reacted immediately, slashing them with Yasutsuna and causing them to disperse. To do this, however, he had to let go of Nanoha, who took the opportunity to dash over to Yoko and shield her from the rest of Death's attack.

"Go to Yuuno! He'll protect you!" the girl shouted as Yoko forced herself to her feet with a groan.

"Take your own advice," the witch said, shoving Nanoha weakly. "Don't throw your life away like this…"

"I won't abandon you, Yoko!" Nanoha said. "I…"

Yoko's eyes widened, and she grabbed the brunette and pulled back as the scythes, still connected to the chains of damned souls, ripped through the floor and closed like a pair of demonic scissors, their blades clashing where Nanoha's head would have been.

"**DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"** Death screamed as he burst from the floor, more blood skulls forming around him. "**BOTH OF YOU DIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!**"

Suddenly, green chains wrapped around both Shinobu and Kyouya, yanking them back into the green bubble that surround everyone who had been left at the safe house. "Sorry," Yuuno said. "But I couldn't let you stay out there!"

"But… Nanoha…" Kyouya said, pressing his hands against the barrier even as his sister and her friend outside were forced to split up by a berserk charge from Death. Yoko had drained a bottle of blue liquid and was no longer limping. Still, Death wasn't giving either of them a chance to attack, his chain scythes and projectiles making the pair run, fly, and dodge to avoid injury and death.

"There's nothing you can do!" Yuuno said. "Death will tear you apart… and then how would Nanoha feel?"

Kyouya cursed under his breath, his eyes fixed on his youngest sister as she desperately darted out of the way as Death smashed through the wall of the house. A moment later, the scythes returned, trying to cut her in half. Still, the girl was finally able to launch several pink bullets before being forced to dodge as Death reappeared in the room, his blades spinning so far from his body that one of them scraped off Yuuno's shield with a harsh scream.

"**WHY! WON'T! YOU! JUST! DIE!?"** Death shrieked, trying to ensnare Nanoha and Yoko with conjured chains. "**WHY FIGHT THE INEVITABLE!?"**

"Nothing's inevitable!" Nanoha shouted back as she blocked several hand-sickles that tried to dice her. "We're…"

One of Death's scythe spun towards her, and as she dodge, the chain lengthened with her. She darted forward, avoiding a painful death but still being wrapped up in the chain. Death let out a shriek of victory as he then spun Nanoha around, smashing her first through one of the outer walls, then back into the house, before spinning her through the second floor and finishing by driving her into the ground.

"NANOHA!" everyone shouted as the girl's pained scream filled the house.

"**DIE! TAKAMACHI! SUFFER AND DIE!**" Death screamed, spinning his other scythe in an overhead slash down towards the injured girl. Yoko was too far away to reach her in time. The red gem at the center of Nanoha's staff flashed, and pink light tried to force the ghostly chains away from the girl's body, but hands reached out and grabbed her cloths, holding her in place. Kyouya screamed in wordless rage and pain as he slammed his fists against Yuuno's barrier: even if the had been able to move, he would never have reached her in time.

Then, a blur of white streaked through a hole in the wall and interposed itself between the descending scythe and the injured girl. "YOU! WILL! NOT! TOUCH! HER!" Soma Cruz shouted, his katana severing the chain and causing the scythe to fly through another wall. The white-clad warrior then smashed the other chain with his foot, freeing Nanoha. "You won't hurt _anyone_! Not while I'm here!"

"_**YOU!**_" Death roared, summoning both his scythes and reattaching them to the chains. "**YOU ARE THE LORD OF DARKNESS! IT IS YOUR DESTINY! WHY DO YOU RESIST THE TRUTH!?"**

"It's not _my_ truth!" Soma shouted back, a ghostly figure wielding a massive sword appearing behind him. "Face someone your own size, Death. If you want me to be your master again, leave the others alone; your quarrel is with me."

"**SELF-RIGHTOUS BOY!**" Death shrieked, slashing at Soma with both blades. "**YOU WILL RETURN TO YOUR PROPER PLACE IN THE WORLD, EVEN IF I HAVE TO DRAG YOU!**"

"Just try it!" Soma snarled, blocking both attack with silver shields. The enraged skeleton was about to lunge again when a pair of crosses spun into the room, burning their way into Death's back and causing him to let out a hiss of pain. A moment later, Julius Belmont stormed in, his whip raised and ready to strike.

Death's eyes blazed with hatred as he stared at his various enemies, from Soma to Nanoha, who was hovering again. From her, he looked at Yoko, who had several magical lighting balls hovering around her, then to Julius, who slowly stalked towards him. "**THIS IS NOT OVER!**" he snarled before vanishing in a flash of black fire. A long moment later, Yuuno finally lowered his shield.

"Nanoha! Are you alright?" Kyouya said, dashing forward and hugging his sister even as she tried to land.

"Yes, I'm alright, brother," Nanoha said. "But what about you, and Father and Mother and Miyuki? What happened here?"

"I think we all want to know that," Soma said, looking around. "Those wards should have been able to hold Death off for long enough for us to get back… how did he break through them instantly?"

"Something happened down in the basement," Shinobu said. "Kyouya and I had just gotten back, when we both heard something and I saw Death entering the house. We ran in and found him in the basement with one of your agents… Death was taunting him about something. Kyouya distracted Death long enough for the agent to get to the safe and lock a bag in with his blood… and then Death went berserk." She gestured weakly at the ruined room. "You saw what happened after that."

"Akinobu…" Soma muttered. "What…"

"We don't have time right now, Soma," Yoko said. "We have to get everyone out of here!" She looked around. "But where… this is the only safe house in the city…"

"My home," Shinobu heard herself saying. "We've got some wards, and Death is as much our enemy as yours. We'll shelter you."

Julius looked for a moment like he was about to object, but he glanced at the people on the floor. "Very well," he rumbled. "I see no other option."

"Nor do I," Soma muttered. "You can both drive, right?" he said, looking at Kyouya and Shinobu, who nodded. "Good, the rest of us will fly escort. Death's injured, but he's also given in completely to his rage: who knows what he'll do. Once everyone's safe, I'll come back and collect the Jewel Seeds."

Within a few minutes, all the unconscious people were loaded into the two cars, making their way to Shinobu's home.

* * *

'How did this happen?' Soma thought grimly as he flew above the city, keeping a careful eye out for Death. He didn't expect the grim reaper to return so quickly, but he hadn't expected him to be able to so easily break through the safe house's defenses either. Even if he had acquired inside help for that…

Soma knew he should have realized that Death was planning something clever the second he stopped personally attempting to acquire Jewel Seeds. Soma should have then taken the time to look at how his team was arranged… looked to see who would be the weak link Death would use to get his way. He should have remembered that Death was a master manipulator, should have made corrections, should have, should have, _should have!_

Soma had had a responsibility to everyone… and he'd failed them. Now, two people were dead, several others had nearly followed, and Death had almost ended the world. All because he, Soma, had been too _stupid_ to see what was right in front of him.

'Master…' Persephone said. 'Don't be so hard on yourself…'

'It was my job to be the leader, Persephone,' Soma said. 'And it's a leader's job to keep the others safe. Akinobu and Yuriko are _dead_ because of me. Death almost won! Mina… Mina could have died… Why shouldn't I be hard on myself?'

'None of us thought of it either…' Succubus said.

'And does that excuse me? I let myself get distracted, get complacent.' Soma was about to close his eyes, but shook his head; he wasn't going to let his guard down for a second until everyone was safely behind whatever wards were around the Tsukimura home. His souls must have realized that he wanted to focus, as they fell silent within his mind.

Others, however, did not. 'Soma?' Nanoha asked from her position closer to the two cars. 'Are you alright?'

'Fine,' Soma thought back a bit more sharply than he intended.

'…Are you sure?' Nanoha asked.

'Very sure,' Soma said before quickly changing the subject. 'Were you able to make any progress on getting through to Fate?'

'I don't know…' Nanoha said. 'She still won't tell me what's going on or how I can help her, but she did back down when Yuuno was Transferring us back, even though Arf wanted to keep fighting. I think… I think that, with one more meeting, I'll be able to get through to her.'

'If there is a next time,' Soma thought grimly to himself. Death had likely been leaving Fate alive to give the team an enemy to focus on rather than him. Now that his plan with Akinobu had failed, he would likely be far less merciful towards the blonde girl. If she wasn't found and brought in soon… she likely wouldn't be at all. Soma decided not to mention that to Nanoha, instead saying, 'Be careful. Whatever's driving her, it's strong enough to push her to overcome a lot of hardships. Don't let your guard down.'

'I won't,' Nanoha said, and the mental connection broke before Nanoha could remember what she had originally been asking. No one else tried to contact Soma before they reached the Tsukimura house.

It was much larger than the safe house that had been all but destroyed by Death's rage, a true mansion. It seemed a fitting residence for vampires, even if they were the gentle, human-like day subspecies rather than the murderous hunters of the night. The wards were also quite strong, perhaps even a bit tougher than the ones around the safe house. The team would be relatively safe here.

Two maids met the group at the gate, and for a brief moment Soma thought they were some variant of Persephone; because few human maids actually wore the stereotypical outfit. However, he quickly realized that they were neither demon nor human, but some kind of… robot? He'd never heard of anything like this before, but he put it from his mind; he had more important things to worry about. Leaving the others to revive those that had been drugged, he returned to the safe house to wait out the stasis and retrieve the Jewel Seeds before Death tried anything.

Also, it gave him the privacy he needed to call Arikado and inform him of his failure.

Arikado listened closely to what Soma had to say, and remained silent for a long minute after the white-haired warrior had finished. Finally, however, he broke the silence. "This is most troubling," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Arikado," Soma said, sitting on the stasis safe. "I should have predicted this…"

"For all your power, Soma, you are not a prophet nor a god," Arikado said. "You are as human as any other, and thus you make mistakes."

Soma hissed in frustration as he rubbed his forehead. "Most people's mistakes don't nearly lead to the world's end, do they?" he snarled.

"No," Arikado said calmly. "But…"

"How can you treat this like it's nothing?!" Soma said, his hand gripping the phone so hard that a part of him was worried it would break. "Good people are _dead_ because of me! I was given one simple job, and I couldn't do it!" Arikado probably tried to say something to this, but Soma wasn't listening. "I've got two _nine_-_year-olds_ doing my work for me, Arikado! _Children_!"

"Soma…"

"Meanwhile, another nine year old alien and her pet wolf are busy running circles around me…"

'Master…'

"And the only reason Death isn't currently resurrecting my darker half is because two civilian just happened to wander in at the right time, even if one of them was a vampire. So please explain how I'm _not_ a colossal failure." Before anyone could say anything, the stasis field Soma was sitting on collapsed, releasing the safe. "The safe's open, I should probably stop talking before Death wanders in and takes the Jewel Seeds when I'm not paying attention. I'll call you again when I've finished screwing everything else up." Without waiting for Arikado to answer, Soma shut his phone and, after a moment, turned it off completely.

* * *

Genya Arikado slowly hung up his phone, his eyes staring out the window of his tower office without really seeing the city outside. He was to busy digesting these disturbing turns of events.

In hindsight, of course, he should have told Soma to pull agents Yamamoto and Itou out of the mission the second Death had shown himself; they were simply not prepared for the kind of damage that Dracula's right hand was capable of. This wouldn't be the first time that the forces of darkness had turned otherwise good people against their companions, and in ever case it had been the last person one would expect. For all Soma's self-blame, it was he, Arikado, who should have foreseen this.

Sighing, he pulled a piece of paper and made a note on it to inform the fallen agent's families at the soonest convenience. Unfortunately, that time was not now; the situation in Uminari was getting out of hand. The destruction of the safe house and the death of two agents was a blow, certainly, but it was Soma's weakening faith that truly had Arikado worried. He had to end this _now_.

Arikado rose, carefully positioned his large chair in a specific spot, and made his way to a small, out of the way cabinet and pulled it open. There were several odds and ends within, but the most important bit was a small mirror attached to the back wall, on that would have been almost completely dominated by the reflection of the person who had opened the cabinet. For Arikado, however, the mirror was completely empty.

Reaching forward, he pressed a single pale finger to the mirror, right at the top of the reflection of the filing cabinet across the room. He then made several sure moves, tracing a path between points that would have been invisible to someone who had a reflection: the old-fashioned quill at the corner of his desk, a portrait of a lovely woman hanging near the ceiling, and several nearly invisible marks on the back of his chair before finally bringing the tip of his finger to the exact center of the mirror and pushing a bit harder before pulling his hand away.

For a moment, nothing happened, but finally the mirror slid down, revealing a bundle of dark cloth resting in a hidden cubbyhole, along with several pieces of armor and a long, sheathed sword. Slowly, Arikado pulled the weapon out and gripped the hilt, taking a steadying breath before drawing it.

"Mother," he whispered as he stared at the blade, "once again I take up your legacy: once again I draw this blade in the name of the humanity you loved. Watch over us all."

Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, also known as Alucard, put his mother's sword away and grabbed the rest of his equipment before turning to inform his helicopter that he needed to get to Uminari with all possible speed.

He could only hope that he would not be too late.


End file.
